FORMER DELL workers are setting up a new national organisation to represent staff at other non-union companies.
The Dell Redundant Workers Association said a new group is needed to educate people about their rights and represent them at companies where unions are banned.
The group successfully lobbied the US computer giant to double its redundancy package. Leader Denis Ryan said it is now ready to take on firms who flout labour laws or do not give ex-workers their entitlements.
The group is advising staff in the Quinn Group on how to get the best redundancy deal.
“We’re starting the national association for non-union workers to campaign for equal rights for those workers. We’re in talks with staff at all non-union companies telling them about the services we can provide,” Mr Ryan said.
Dell was the first big casualty of the recession with 1,900 job losses announced at the Limerick plant in January last year. Mr Ryan said that because staff were not members of a union they had no idea of their entitlements.
“We’ve been talking to the Quinn Direct workers about the pitfalls they will face as they go about getting a redundancy package,” he said.
The group also helped former workers from Waterford Crystal and SR Technics to apply to the European Globalisation Fund after Dell staff were awarded €23 million. Although both companies had unions, these had no experience of securing this type of EU funding. The globalisation fund can be used for retraining or starting a business, with the aim of helping people get back to work.
Dell workers initially had their redundancy capped at 52 weeks’ pay. Last February the association called a public meeting to express anger at the deal and just before the meeting went ahead, Dell said it would double the pay.