The vast majority of staff at an Offaly briquette factory have chosen to be made redundant as they did not find the alternative jobs being offered by Bord Na Móna satisfactory.
According to SIPTU Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane, between 40 and 45 workers at the Derrinlough briquette factory have agreed to redundancy in August, representing up to 73% of the total 62 workers. The remainder have chosen to be redeployed in the company’s bog rewetting sector.
“We were disappointed we didn’t get, for their redeployment jobs, the wages they are currently on,” said Kane, as reported by RTÉ.
“However, there was a bit of give in the company and we did make some improvements.
“Many in the workforce are in their 50s and felt they would prefer to settle for redundancy. They weren’t attracted by the jobs being offered them by Bord na Móna.”
He added: “The redundancy payments will be the standard five weeks pay per year of service done.”
Bord Na Móna closed the country’s last briquette factory on June 1st, after producing briquettes for 63 years – a move carried out as part of the government’s “decarbonisation” programme to meet climate targets.
There has been significant frustration among some rural communities that as Bord Na Móna shuts down briquette production domestically, briquettes and peat moss are being imported from Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Scandinavia and elsewhere.
‘It’s a disgrace’: Fuel merchants ‘rationing’ peat briquettes and forced to look to Europe for alternative supplies https://t.co/rCgjzqWdwb pic.twitter.com/qJFjC136yx
— Farming Independent (@Farming_Indo) February 9, 2021
Gript previously did an in-depth interview with some Offaly Bord Na Móna workers impacted by these policies, in a video which can be viewed below.