Waterford to lose 315 jobs

WATERFORD City’s second-largest employer, Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland, is to close its plant next year, making 315 of the 705 staff redundant.
The news comes after major job losses at Waterford Crystal, Waterford Stanley, ABB Transformers and Bausch Lomb.
Local SIPTU official Marie Butler said:
“It’s left people very, very upset and angry because the decision came out of the blue.”

Aer Lingus cuts 55 cabin crew

FLIGHT schedule cuts by Aer Lingus will result in 55 contract cabin crew staff in Cork and Dublin losing their jobs.
Staff were notified by text message on Monday night that management had met with their union, IMPACT, at the Labour Relations Commission and to expect a phone call to explain the position.
Management later phoned individuals to tell them that their contracts were not being renewed.
IMPACT official Christina Carney said she had spoken to the workers and they were devastated.  She said there is a lot of shock and anger at how they have been treated by the company.
She added that the way in which the news was broken to staff who had worked very hard for the company over the last few years and were led to believe that they had a long-term career in Aer Lingus had only added to their distress amidst fears about their livelihoods and mortgages.

Community campaign against cuts

COMMUNITY sector workers held a rally in Dublin on Tuesday organised by SIPTU to oppose planned jobs and service cuts.
Travelling from Waterford to join the protest, Waterford City Councillor David Cullinane said it is vital that the sector “unites against savage cuts which will devastate communities, especially those worst hit by the recession”.
The Community Service Programme has seen its funding cut by €10 million; €44 million has been cut from the Community Development Programmes and partnerships.
Many Family Resource Centres are under threat of closure and €2.6 million has been cut from the National Drugs Strategy. Cllr Cullinane said
“As a voluntary member of a Community Development Project in Larchville and Lisduggan, and a former board member of Waterford Area Partnership, I know at firsthand the impact these cuts will have. These are organisations working at the coalface in disadvantaged areas trying to bring about social inclusion.
“We need to turn that anger into action,” he said, urging everyone involved with or who has benefited from community development type programmes to attend SIPTU’s national march organised for 30 September in Dublin. “Only by working together and uniting behind a single campaign can we successfully force this Government to abandon their strategy of making the vulnerable pay for their mistakes.”