Workers’ union SIPTU has urged all sides to seek a “speedy” resolution to the ongoing standoff between the Beef Plan Movement and Meat Industry Ireland (MII).
In a statement, SIPTU representatives have called on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, the Beef Plan Movement and MII to engage in “meaningful negotiations aimed at finding a speedy resolution to a dispute which is threatening jobs in processing plants across the country”.
SIPTU sector organiser Mick Browne said: “As a result of these protests the jobs of our members working in the processing plants are now being placed at risk.
All sides to the dispute must come together for meaningful talks that are aimed at solving this crisis.
Another union organiser, Jason Palmer, said that the issues at the core of the dispute were not caused by the “people whose livelihoods are increasingly threatened.”
SIPTU’s Terry Bryan, said:
“Workers in beef processing plants are not paid at a level which places them in a position to endure significant losses in wages.
Many are facing real hardship as a result of this ongoing dispute. We are currently contacting all employers in the sector asking them to pay our members while they are laid off during this dispute.
“This is a growing crisis for an industry which is already facing major challenges in the form of Brexit and foreign competition.
“All sides in this dispute must move to ensure jobs are not lost due to a situation which should be resolved through negotiation.”