Roadstone strike continues in Castlebar

Roadstone strike continues in Castlebar


Edwin McGreal

Strike action by Roadstone employees throughout the country, including their Castlebar base, is to continue into a second week.
Strikers have been on the picket line at the gates to Roadstone’s Castlebar facility at Moneen in the town for the duration of last week and Fianna FΡil’s Lisa Chambers has called for support for the workers.
“There around 17 employees on strike at the Castlebar plant and over 450 employees on strike nationally. They are into their second week of strike action and the company has been virtually shut down, yet we have heard very little about this in the media and the government has failed to intervene on behalf of employees,” she said.
“Employees have been hit with severe wage and bonus cuts over the last number of years as part of company restructuring and an effort to save the company €6 million. Employee numbers have plummeted from approximately 2000, in 2003 to approximately 450 currently. “Wages have been reduced by approximately 15 per cent and bonuses by a massive 90 per cent.
“Employees say the bonus structure dates back to the late seventies where bonuses were given to employees instead of any wage increases, so for all intents and purposes the bonus formed part of employees wages. Employees say the bonus was based on attendance and flexibility to do different types of work and has been cut from approximately €4,000 to €400.
“Understandably employees are angry and feel they have gotten a raw, deal particularly in light of a huge bonus paid to the Company Director last year which was in excess of €1 million,” continued Chambers.
Cllr Chambers said an offer by Roadstone to employees was not satisfactory.
“Roadstone have approached employees and offered to re-instate the bonuses on an incremental basis over four years. It is proposed to give back 25 per cent this year, 35 per cent in 2015, 65 per cent in 2017 and full bonus in 2018. Employees have worked out that this will cost each individual in the region of €30,000 in lost bonus over that period and are not happy with the offer. In the absence of a wage increase and faced with losses of this scale, I think it’s time Roadstone went back to the drawing board and came up with a fairer deal for employees,” said Chambers.