Workers at the Richardson's fertiliser plant in Belfast ended a sit-in protest over redundancy pay last night.
The workers went home after union representatives and the company's liquidators reached an agreement. The company went into liquidation when the part-State-owned IFI closed its plants in Belfast, Cork and Arklow, with the loss of 600 jobs.
Staff in Belfast began the sit-in when it emerged the company would not be paying redundancy in accordance with standing agreements and they would not receive their full pension entitlements from the company scheme.
Some of the 206 people who lost their jobs at the Belfast factory staged a sit-in on the premises for several weeks.
However, union leaders last night said a deal has been agreed that will lead to significantly improved redundancy terms. But officials said they may pursue a shortfall in the company's pension fund through the courts.
Mr Eamon McDaid of SIPTU said the liquidator had acknowledged standard redundancy agreements and he expressed his hope that workers would soon get at least 90 per cent of the money due to them.
PA