Employment

Fórsa to meet with Eir management on plans to cut 750 jobs

The indications from our members are that the company is seeking voluntary – not compulsory – redundancies. That would be in line with agreements we have in place to provide very strong protections for our members against forced job losses.

Fórsa trade union is to meet with management at Eir for a briefing meeting next week following the telecoms company’s announcement that it’s to cut 750 jobs. The union represents IT staff, some management grades and clerical officers at the company.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Eugene Quinn said the announcement followed widespread speculation about job losses following the recent change of ownership of the company.

“We’re obviously very concerned that more jobs are to be shed from the company. The indications from our members are that the company is seeking voluntary – not compulsory – redundancies. That would be in line with agreements we have in place to provide very strong protections for our members against forced job losses.

“Nevertheless, I am seeking an early meeting to discuss the many implications of today’s announcement for workers in the company. Fórsa wants to engage with management as soon as possible in order to get a clear picture of the company’s future, and put an end to any further speculation,” he said.

Emergency motion

An emergency motion was tabled by the Eir branch of Fórsa at the union’s Services & Enterprises conference, which is taking place this week in Galway. The motion calls on Fórsa to ensure there are no compulsory redundancies by the new owners and management within Eir. The motion asks Fórsa to engage with the government to “ensure highly trained and specialised work is not continued to be exported from the country.”

The motion, which was backed unanimously by conference delegates, states “At the current rate EIR will become a company of 2,000 employees down from a company 15,000, while the majority of work “will” be done off-shore.”

Eir CEO Carolan Lennon has confirmed that the union will be briefed, and that the company will respond to  questions at a meeting to take place next week.