Companies which close without warning or prior consultation with their workers should have their assets seized, according to a SIPTU official, writes Padraig Yeates.
The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, "must act now to strengthen existing legislation to protect the rights of workers in such traumatic situations", Mr John McDonnell, the union's south-west regional organiser, said yesterday.
The loss of 100 jobs at Millfield Textiles in Cork city and 1,100 at Seagate in Clonmel had happened in circumstances which were "nothing less than scandalous".
"They show no regard for workers or the Protection of Employment Act, which provides for prior consultation with the workforce and their representatives." Mr McDonnell said new penalties, including the seizure of company assets, which will act as a major deterrent to employers, must be imposed where an employer refuses to give proper notice and time for consultation with employees. "Otherwise we will continue to experience the unacceptable situation where workers will continue to learn first through the media that their jobs and livelihoods are lost, without any opportunity for them to influence events."