Kerry Foods plant faces three one-day strikes

Workers at one of food group Kerry’s factories are threatening to strike in a row over redundancies.

Kerry Foods wants to cut 31 jobs at a plant in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, to reduce costs to allow it cope with competitive pressures resulting from a weaker sterling.

24-hour strikes

Trade union Siptu said on Tuesday that staff there have told management that they will hold three 24-hour strikes unless the company removes the threat to make 31 workers redundant “without agreement”.

Siptu organiser Jim McVeigh said the company knew it could avoid the strikes by agreeing to voluntary redundancies.

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Kerry has said that it can offer voluntary redundancy in some cases, but not all, as it is seeking to cut some specific posts to streamline the plant’s operation.

The Carrickmacross factory makes frozen prepared meals for is export to the UK, where it faces tough competition and weaker sterling.

Kerry maintains that the cuts are needed to ensure the future of the other 385 jobs in the Monaghan plant.