Offaly pork industry still industry still under a cloud

The future of the pork industry in Offaly remains under a cloud with news that staff at Rosderra Meats in Clara and Edenderry will not be compensated for the work days lost during the pork crisis last week. The news comes in the wake of the main union representing meat processing workers warning that job losses and plant closures could lie ahead next year across the country. SIPTU has criticised Rosderra for failing to compensate their employees" wages even though the company received part of the massive €180 million in government aid and €15 million aid from the EU. Rosderra management said that 'the issue of payment of wages for staff is a non-runner for us as we cannot afford the cost' in a letter to the union. It"s believed that €250,000 is owed to its 850 workers for the three or four days that they were laid off last week at factories in Edenderry, Clara, Roscrea and Jamestown. The majority of meat processing workers represented by SIPTU are on €10 an hour. Meanwhile, SIPTU has voiced fears for the future of the pork industry. 'There is a massive fear of job lay-offs,' said SIPTU branch organiser Frank Jones. January will be an awful month for this industry. There are currently six big processors in the country, I would see two surviving in the new year. The industry is devastated by this, but the workers are the only ones affected.' A huge 60% of Rosderra products are exported, half of these to Britain. However, exports to Britain are now suffering because of the weak sterling performance. Consumer confidence in Irish pork abroad has also not returned. 'There"s certainly a dent in our marketplace for our exports,' said Offaly IFA chairman Aidan Larkin. 'People dealing in the meat business might use it to bring down the price of bacon or beef. The home market is recovering well, but there is going to be confidence building abroad... There are tough times ahead, only those who have faced difficulties before will survive.' Meanwhile, Rosderra Meats released a statement yesterday (Thursday) to 'clarify confusion' about the purpose of the government aid package. 'Rosderra Irish Meats confirms that the package consists of emergency funding only for the destruction scheme for bacon and pork product that has to be dumped because of the dioxin crisis. The company has held briefing sessions with all our staff, and some shop stewards at all our plants, and we have explained in detail what exactly the fund can be used for according to the agreement with the Government,' said the statement. The compensation money will instead be spent on dumping and incinerating the 50,000 tonnes of meat product that cannot be sold and that compensation for the workers did not feature in the aid package.