There have been angry scenes at the Waterford Crystal plant in Kilbarry after staff were told the company is shutting down. At least 300 Waterford Crystal employees are refusing to leave the visitors' gallery at the factory and have started an unofficial sit in. The employees say they will not be leaving until they meet with the receiver. AdvertisementThere were some scuffles at one point and a main door to the centre was broken. A spokesperson for the receiver, David Carson of Deloitte, said that efforts were continuing to find a buyer for the company. It is understood a statement by Mr Carson will be issued shortly. Walter Cullen of trade union UNITE confirmed that he had been informed by the receiver that the company is to close. Production at the factory stopped this afternoon and staff had been told to 'expect bad news'. Waterford Crystal has been in receivership for the past four weeks and efforts to find a buyer have so far been unsuccessful. Local Sinn Féin Councillor Joe Kelly, who is one of those currently occupying the visitors' gallery, said the receiver had told staff he would not close the company while there were interested investors. 'Today he has gone back on his word', he said.
been watching it.. very bad news for all at waterford glass.. they just shut the gates on the whole lot today. the workers wont be having that,but its doomed IMO.
imo thats the way the country has gone so why they get special treatment. Plenty have lost jobs on the building but thats ok but when the fellas who make a fancy piece of glass loss a job its a big deal
read into the facts mate. i'm on the way out the door(while i have a job) at the moment so can't go into in but i'll post more later.
jesus, some of these blokes have been working there 30 years and they're goin out d door without a redundancy or their pension they've been payin into all that time. i think you'd be pretty pissed off 2
exactly!! that pathetic goverment of ours should pull its finger out and try and sort this situation out! bunch c**ts is all they are!
we're the only country in europe as far as i know that dont have an insurance policy on our pensions so if your company goes tits up your pension can be gone, that's a joke.
it sure is a joke... im from the area,and i know some workers there, that are owed thousands in payments from the company.The workers are now staging a sit-in on a rota basis.The reciever lied to the workers,and thought he could just tell everyone to pack up and leave their place of employment,and lock the gates behind them. the workers werent having that. its bad enough being told your job is gone,and then being told there is little or no chance of you getting your pension either..what a disaster. the workers are justified IMO in trying to get answers,from the recievers and the government.
more power to the workers on this one.from what ive heard waterford is going down the tubes quicker than anywhere between this and bausch and lombe(spelt right?)going on a three week month.and didnt something else close down down there recently.this country's workers just accepts been pissed on look at the french during the week and the british energy workers.thats the way to go
youve heard right mate. and i agree with you on your point about the french, they dont put up with it.
workers have a basic human right to protest if they have been treated bad....its a pity the globle brand name of waterford glass is fading fast!
the very people who run this country are running scared and the messages that they send out is doom and gloom and they seem to be panicking what message does that send out to companies i know lets get out of here before the crap hits the fan, billions of euro have been sent out of this country by foreign workers how do we recoup this money the french have the right idea and now i hear and i dont know wether this is true or not but the belgians are now saying that if redundacies are to happen than the foreign workers go first you say that here and you are a racist, WATERFORD CRYSTAL is a world renowned name whose workers produce highly regarded pieces why can the government not step in and keep this place open, one or the richest countries in the world my arse
i'm a former worker of the glass. i know loads of people who've been working there since they left school maybe at 15 and 16 years of age,some people working in the factory the best part of 40 years and to find out yesterday that they've lost their jobs by means of a text message.. WTF. the recievers had a agrement with the union that they would not do anything until they were informed first. the recievers and union were only in talks the day before with potential buyers of the company. people were turning up for work yesterday only to be told by a heavy gang from dublin that they wouldn't get in because all there lobs were gone. ¼ of a million tourists walk thought the doors of the visitor centre every year ,it’s the biggest tourist attraction in the south-east the lost of the revenue from these people will have a big impact on other jobs not only in Waterford but the south-east.there must of been more then a thousand people out supporting the workers in the rain today..fair play to them.
Was watching this on the news lastnight, it's really awful to see how they are being treated. Bad enough losing your job but then to be treated with total disdain and disrespect in the process is a total kick in the teeth. One man was working there for 39 years, and theres more like him. Fair play to the workers, hope they get what they deserve.
I asked a former employee i know who got laid off a few years ago for his opinion on this. His reply with a wry smirk: "Lucky i came away from there with a few shares in my back pocket!"
This is a bit off topic but I feel that this country is getting a deserved dose of reality. The sheer greed and ignorance that was expressed by a percentage of this population when they covered their eyes and ears and elected F.F for another term has come home to roost. The Irish public needs to accept their share of responsibility in this mess. Would any of the locals know if the employees of Waterford Cryst were balloted/offered pay cuts in order to shore expenditure (short-term)?? Have a number of these jobs been saved since wedgewood was taken over???