Christmas sit-in - Irish ex-workers demand pay

32 dismissed workers and their families look for pay

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Dismissed workers outside of the Vita Cortex plant in Cork

Photo by CorkIndependent.com

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There have been repeated calls from unions and politicians for Ronan to make clear the extent of his personal assets and to pay the redundancy himself from his own assets.
 
“I, like so many other business people, have had to accept the harsh reality of the unprecedented state of the Irish and global economy,” Ronan said.
 
He claimed to have borrowed €8.5 million in 2006 to purchase shares in the business because he saw “potential in the Vita Cortex business both in its trading and property portfolios.”

His Vita Cortex company has claimed that the redundancy payments could be made if NAMA, the state agency established as a “bad bank” to take over risky loans from banks, would agree to release  €2.5 million.
 
NAMA says the loans are related to borrowings for a separate company and cannot be released to pay the redundancy.
 
Workers on the sit-in, who were feted on the Late, Late Show on RTE television last weekend, claim the total redundancy at 2.9 weeks of pay to all 32 staff for each year of service, would come to
€1.2 million.
 
They claim the firm would be allowed a tax rebate at 60%, so the net cost to Vita Cortex would be €480,000.

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