More than 350 Xerox staff in Dundalk have appealed to the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to intervene in a dispute over pension contributions.
The staff, who will be made redundant next Friday, want Ms Harney to pressure the troubled US copier maker to pay departing employees those contributions the company have made to their pension scheme along with the employees' own contributions to the scheme.
The employer contributions could be worth £140,000 (#178,000) for all the employees affected by the redundancies, which were announced in June following Xerox's decision to exit inkjet printing.
A letter sent to Ms Harney from an employee representative committee states that the company has refused to pay the contributions despite a verbal assurance given by the human resources director.
Xerox yesterday denied that any verbal assurance had been given by management.
The employee letter continues: "We believe the company is acting in a dishonourable and uncaring manner . . . we believe that only your personal involvement can assist us and we urge you to do so." All employees affected by the redundancies signed a petition which was sent with the letter to the Tanaiste this week.
A spokesman for Ms Harney confirmed yesterday that the Department had received the letter and would reply in the next few days.
He declined to comment on its content.
The value of employer contributions to the scheme varies but Mr Joe Browne, managing director of Xerox Ireland, said it averaged at between £300£400 for each worker.
Mr Browne strenuously denied that a human resources manager had given employees a verbal assurance that they would receive the contributions. Rather, he said the human resources manager had asked for legal advice on this issue and subsequently made clear to employees at Xerox that they would not receive the contributions.
Mr Browne said Xerox had agreed to pay back contributions made by employees to the pension scheme but it would not pay them employer contributions.
He said employees had all received "fair and competitive severance packages" and there were no legal obligation to pay back employer contributions.
