Union to recommend ­Element Six survival plan

WHILE Element Six management had set a deadline for the end of September for acceptance of its Shannon Sustainability Plan, one week into October, the situation is still unresolved. It’s understood that management are due to meet with senior company figures in London this week for further discussions.

Leaders of the UNITE trade union have this week said they will recommend acceptance of the survival plan to members.
In a letter to management, the union stated, “In the interest of securing jobs on the Shannon site and achieving an acceptable redundancy package for those who will have to leave the company, we, the committee of the UNITE Staff Group, are unanimous in recommending to our members that the Shannon Sustainability Plan, as per the latest Labour Court recommendations, be accepted.
“We hope that this gesture of acceptance and support will in some way help in progressing the implementation of the plan.”
There has also been some speculation among workers that the number being made redundant will be reduced for a second time. Initially 370 were due to go, but this was reduced to 207, provided the plan was implemented.
In a letter to workers this week, the company’s CEO, Cyrus Jilla, said that management would be assessing the situation over the next few weeks.
“The deadline for resolution of the Shannon Sustainability Plan has now passed and our offers have expired. In light of the Labour Court recommendations and the positive discussions of the Shannon Sustainability Plan, as the executive we now need to consider our choices.
“We have consistently stated that the Sustainability Plan is inextricably linked with the affordability of any redundancy package. As the redundancy package recommended by the Labour Court is in excess of our affordability limits with the Sustainability Plan as it is currently drafted, we need to assess the options we have.”
He called for greater commitment from workers. “We have welcomed the constructive discussion we had with your colleagues and the unions in the past 10 days on the details of the Sustainability Plan. We will now begin to put in place elements of the plan to ensure any transition is smooth.
“As we near the end of this process, I suggest you demonstrate your commitment by showing us what Shannon can deliver. As you know, while working has been normal, it has not delivered the productivity you should be able to achieve. This in itself can impact on the affordability of our decisions. Now is the time to convince us of your desire to retain operations in Shannon.”