Redundancies Ahead of Last Year

7 Jul 2006

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is concerned at the continued high level of redundancies in the Irish economy. Although June was lower than the corresponding month in 2005, the cumulative for the 1st. half year is 3.2% higher than the previous year.

Given that 2005 was the fourth year in a row with redundancies in excess of 23,000, this is not a good situation for employment prospects going forward. While employment levels in the manufacturing sector have improved in the latest figures from the CSO, they mask continuing factory closures in traditional manufacturing. The jobs pickup has been mainly in modern manufacturing, such as electronics, ICT and pharmaceuticals. However, the INOU has tracked redundancies in such companies as Fulflex (elastics), Magee (textiles) and Nestle (confectionery) in recent months. The INOU has continually warned about job losses in traditional manufacturing industries, especially in rural areas. “We are pleased that an initiative will be undertaken to address the challenges to the manufacturing sector in the new social partnership agreement, Towards 2016”, said Mr. Eric Conroy, General Secretary.

In its tracking of redundancies, the INOU notes that their incidence continues to be uneven throughout the country. More redundancies have taken place in the 6 months to June than in the 9 months to Sept. 2005 (only available statistics from DETE) in several areas. These include Cork, Kilkenny, Longford, Louth, Wexford and Dublin 15. “In this respect, the placing of the National Spatial Strategy as a key deliverable in Towards 2016 is very welcome”, said Mr. Conroy. “We must ensure balanced regional development throughout the country to provide new job opportunities for those losing their jobs”, he added.