Job losses loom at Liebherr
Thursday March 15 2007
WORK at the Liebherr crane plant in Killarney ground to a halt on Tuesday when up to 350 staff went on strike over a dispute about the employees’ pension scheme.
SIPTU and union officials at Liebherr decided to take industrial action after the company rejected the Labour Court recommendations on the pension scheme.
Management at the company warned its 450 staff prior to Tuesday’s strike that their decision to take industrial action was putting jobs at risk.
Liebherr bosses described the decision as ‘inexplicable’ given the current crisis affecting the manufacturing industry in Ireland’. The average yearly wage for hourly paid employees in Liebherr is ?48,500 with over a 100 other employees earning well in excess of this.
The dispute over the pension scheme has been ongoing since 2004 when the company announced it was closing its Defined Benefit Pension scheme to new employees.
Under the existing pension scheme the gross contribution of the employee and employer is 25 per cent, however under the new scheme the entire contribution would be reduced to ten per cent.
In 2003 Liebherr had to pay out an additional ?3.42 million to the Defined Pension Scheme over a three year period. The company also increased the employer’s regular contribution by 2.3 per cent on the understanding the Defined Benefit Scheme would be closed to new employees.
While a recent actuarial report showed as of January 1, 2006 the company will have to pay out a further deficit of ?4.58 million to fund the existing scheme.
However, SIPTU spokesperson Donal Tobin told The Kerryman that his union’s 350 members had no choice but to take industrial action in order to maintain employment standards at the Killarney plant.
“This issues about the new defined contribution scheme for new employees has been ongoing since 2004 and it went through the Labour Court but has still not been resolved.
“We plan to have a series of 24-hour stoppages from 8am to 8am. The company’s decision to close the Defined Benefit Pension will have serious repercussions for its new employees as the pension is an integral part of employee’s pay. There will be further industrial action if this issue is not resolved,” Mr Tobin said.
Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd first came to Killarney in 1958 and is one of the few remaining large manufacturing employers in the South Kerry area.
The Killarney plant currently employs 450 people while worldwide the Liebherr Company has a workforce of 22,000 people employed in over a 100 companies. In 2004 the company made a turnover of ?4,590 million. This is the first time since the 1970s that there has been industrial action at the plant.
