Workers at the Vita Cortex plant in Cork, who have been occupying the factory since mid-December in a dispute over redundancy pay, have accepted an invitation to talks from the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
At a general meeting of Siptu members at the plant this morning, a proposal from the LRC's director of conciliation services Kevin Foley, for both sides in the dispute "to engage in meaningful negotiations" was accepted. The company also confirmed tonight it would engage with the LRC "to see how the proposed mediation process might work".
Siptu organiser Anne Egar said that if the process was accepted by the owners of Vita Cortex, it could be "the first stage" in a process that can lead to the resolution of the dispute.
"If the public statements by the owners of Vita Cortex calling for meaningful negotiations are to be credible then a just resolution to the dispute is achievable and these brave workers can finally return to their homes and families," she said.
The workers will mark the 100th day of their sit-in at the former foam manufacturing plant on the Kinsale Road in Cork tomorrow.
Ms Egar said they were "adamant that the dispute will continue until a just resolution has been secured".
In a statement, Vita Cortex said it had agreed to meet with the LRC "to discuss how the proposed mediation process might work".
"This follows on from recent company efforts to resolve the dispute where an offer was made to the former Vita Cortex workers which would have seen the former employees receive total redundancy payments close to €1.1m with an average payment of €32,000 per worker and with some individual workers receiving in excess of €60,000.
"Whilst this reasonable offer, made in good faith, was rejected, Siptu and the former Vita Cortex workers maintain their pursuit of an anticipated redundancy of 0.9 of a week per year of service ex-gratia which the company has always stated that it could not pay and did not commit to pay."
The company maintained the dispute was continuing "in complete disregard for the established framework of dispute resolution and in breach of the Industrial Relations Act 1990". It said the dispute was unofficial and "its conduct has been unlawful in occupying the company’s premises, in its picketing of directors homes and its secondary picketing of businesses unconnected with Vita Cortex is undeniable".
The 32 employees are seeking 0.9 weeks’ pay per year of service which, they say, was agreed with the company and given to other employees who left in 2009 and 2010.