About 80 jobs are in jeopardy at a Co Tipperary tube-manufacturing company after workers rejected a rescue package aimed at saving the business.
The package, which was drawn up to save two plants operated by Tubex Ltd in Nenagh and Portroe, was rejected at a three-hour meeting in the Portroe plant on Tuesday evening.
Tubex, which manufactures collapsible tube containers for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, has been losing money in recent times and the management was seeking rationalisation to make the company viable.
The rescue package, which involved 28 redundancies and more flexible work practices from remaining employees, was rejected by a small majority at the meeting on Tuesday. A total of 23 of the 28 redundancies being sought were mandatory and the remaining five were voluntary.
The Nenagh branch secretary of SIPTU, Mr Martin Meere, said that the management told the union that failure to accept the package would lead to the closure of the two factories.
Asked if he believed that the plants would be closing, Mr Meere said: "We are always hopeful, but we can only believe what the company told us - that this was a last-ditch effort. But we are still hopeful of further discussions."
The rescue package, which was aimed at addressing the current financial difficulties of the company, was put together at talks involving SIPTU, the management of the company and IBEC which lasted for eight hours at the Labour Relations Commission in Dublin on Monday. The company had initially sought 31 redundancies, but this figure was reduced to 28 in the final package presented to workers.
The company's difficulties came to the fore when a new plant it opened at Lisboney Industrial Estate in Nenagh was closed as a result of lack of orders over two years ago.
The Tubex facility at Portroe has been producing collapsible aluminium tubes for several decades. The company also has a plant at the Gortlandroe Industrial Estate in Nenagh, where plastic tubes are made.
The redundancy package on offer comprised the new statutory entitlement plus two weeks of pay for each year of service.
The managing director of Tubex Ltd, Mr Brian Smyth, said: "I have been informed by SIPTU that the LRC proposal was rejected by the membership. I have spoken to all members of the board in the intervening timeframe. The board has confirmed that it will digest and consider the consequences of the negative vote by the SIPTU membership and it will give its considered response in the coming weeks."
North Tipperary has suffered several factory closures in the past two years with the loss of over 700 jobs. Aventis pharmaceuticals in Nenagh, the GMX factory in Thurles and the Miza pharmaceutical plant in Roscrea have all ceased operation in that period.