Republican News · Thursday 7 February 2002

Crowe calls on Nestle to assure workers

The news that Nestle Ireland is to sell off some of its best known brands and split its Irish workforce in two has generated huge concern that jobs are about to be lost at the company's Tallaght operations, according to Sinn Féin councillor Seán Crowe.

Crowe said: "While Nestle have every right to run a profitable business they cannot ignore the responsibility they have for their workers. The 132 workers who are involved in the production of the food brands being sold by Nestle are rightly concerned that any future buyers of the Chef Sauces, Fruitfield Jams, Silvermints and other brands will not want to take the Tallaght workers into the buyer company's operations."

It is highly unlikely, according to business reports, that any single buyer will be interested in these brands, so workers could easily be made redundant. Councillor Crowe believes that "Nestle must come clean and make clear what sort of job security these 132 workers have. If it is likely that they will lose their jobs then Nestle must begin negotiation on an adequate redundancy package.

"Nestle made record profits of over €1.25 billion in the first half of last year, so they can afford to fulfill their responsibilities to their Irish workers. The first step is being truly honest about how safe their jobs will be after the brands are put up for sale," said Crowe.