Bad Start to 2005 on the Jobs Front

19 Jan 2005

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is very concerned about the number of redundancies already announced this year. Already nearly 2,000 redundancies have been announced. These job losses are spread across the country and in different industries although the manufacturing sector is experiencing the majority of these losses. The companies facing closure or being down sized include Sercom Solutions in Co.Dublin, Bord na Mona in Co. Mayo, APW Electronics in Dublin and Sara Lee in Co. Kerry

‘This is a worrying start to 2005, despite the predictions of renewed economic and employment growth’, said Eric Conroy, General Secretary INOU. ‘The manufacturing sector is under attack again as competition from low cost countries forms a constant backdrop to these grim announcements. These levels of redundancies will have a negative impact not only on the workers but also the communities and we in the INOU have been consistently warning of widening regional disparities’.

‘It is vital that the Government strives to replace these jobs in the same localities. Under Sustaining Progress’s Special Initiative on redundant workers, the Government is to roll out effective task forces following the announcement of large company closures or downsizing to examine immediate and real solutions for the workers. However, very little progress has been made in this area and we call on the Government to be more proactive in this final year of Sustaining Progress especially in light of these recent redundancies’.