Proposed lay-offs at McCarren's

The Cavan branch of SIPTU is urging the management of McCarren & Co. to enter talks regarding proposed lay-offs at the company. SIPTU say they are concerned at the recent "temporary lay-offs" at the long-established Cavan pigmeat processing plant, stating that it is their understanding that as many as 40 employees may have received notice from the company of their imminent lay-off from employment. "Having contacted the company, both by phone and in writing, we still find that we are not in a position to confirm the exact numbers involved," said Vernon Hegarty, assistant branch secretary of SIPTU in Cavan. McCarren & Co. managing director Andrew McCarren accepted that notices of potential lay-offs had gone out to quite a few employees - but that didn't mean that the lay-offs were actually implemented at this point in time, he said. According to Mr. McCarren, the company are undergoing restructuring and it may have to lay people off until they get the business re-organised. He cited difficult market conditions as a key reason for the changes that are being implemented at the company. SIPTU say that a deeply worrying aspect of the notices given to date is that no criteria has been established by the company, to their knowledge, on how selections were being made for lay-offs. "Considering that notice periods are being cited that are relevant to redundancy situations - not to lay-offs - and that forms for claiming redundancy lump-sum are being issued with notice letters by the company, we feel that the application of fair, equitable and transparent criteria must be adhered to in making any such selections," said SIPTU's Vernon Hegarty. "We have written to the company seeking clarification on their selection criteria but they have not yet responded to that query, nor to our request to meet to discuss and resolve the issues. Fairness "That employees of considerable service with the company are being selected in this context - and one lady whose period of maternity leave is imminent - the necessity of establishing fairness and equity becomes even more important," he continues. McCarren & Co. were the principal employer in Cavan town and surrounding catchment are for many decades. They have been a mainstay of pig production both regionally and nationally, providing producers with an outlet for the animals on a continuous basis. In a plea for talks, SIPTU say that they consider the company's actions in this instance to be ill-considered. "The company's actions are potentially damaging to workplace relations at a time when all parties should be concerned with addressing problems jointly, in a spirit of partnership. "It is only through a combining of efforts, addressing those interests we share in common, together (the continued, profitable operation of the business), that we will be best placed to protect the interests of all during this difficult economic period. SIPTU Cavan branch is committed to such an approach and calls on McCarren and Company to reconsider its position in this; to do otherwise is bordering on the reckless," said the union.