Workers at Offaly factory told to 'down tools' an hour before end of shift
'Everybody needs money so they can't just tell us there's no job and no money. They'll have to do something for us hopefully.'
AN employee at Cardinal Health has revealed how the working day was cut short on Wednesday just an hour before the end of a shift.
The worker at the Tullamore-based medical devices manufacturer spoke to the Tullamore Tribune on condition of anonymity and said their shift began at 7.30am.
“Then at 3 o'clock we were told we're going home and come back at 10 o'clock tomorrow. I was working from 7.30 to 4 o'clock and they told us at 3 o'clock to down tools, cover everything up as if you're going on holiday and leave, and you'll get paid for the hour,” said the employee.
“The cleaners were told to down tools as well and leave... Evenings [shift workers] were told, I think by email, and night shift were told by an email not to come but they will be paid.
“We were gone. We just literally dropped tools, dropped what we were doing and left. I was leaving at 3.10pm, we were told at 3 o'clock, whatever we had to tidy up, tidy up, and we just left.
“And we're to come back in tomorrow (Thursday, August 29), we're not to enter the floors - the washroom floors - we're to come to the main entrance and stay there, we're not to enter the premises until 10 o'clock. We're to be seated at 10.20 and there's a meeting at 10.30.”
Fears for hundreds of jobs at major Offaly manufacturer:
The employee, who has worked there for about 20 years, was not taken completely by surprise by Wednesday's dramatic development.
“It was going quiet for the past 18 months. Lines being discontinued, running them out, overpacking them and then they're discontinued, magnifying the order.
“There was one day I was in there and I did four hours of work and the supervisors didn't even care if you did anything. You were there for the full shift and you were making work. They were winding down, it was just a matter of seeing how much more could they get out of this.
“You could see it coming. Whether they keep on certain lines... but my area is completely dead, we're just tipping along, there's no pressure, you don't see a supervisor, you could even see the slack in the supervision. There was a lull in supervision since Christmas.”
The worker said there is now a question mark over 400 jobs, or “pretty close to 400” and many staff are already shifting their focus to a redundancy package.
“We're all going to sit in if we don't get our redundancy. Everybody needs money so they can't just tell us there's no job and no money. They'll have to do something for us hopefully. Who knows? We'll just wait and see.
“As long as we get what we're promised. I think the agreement is six weeks [pay per year of service], so as long as we get what we're entitled to and they don't renege. We can see it coming but if they don't give us money there'll be a bigger problem I'm sure.”
The employees are members of the SIPTU trade union.