[Colm Moore]

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0716/iar...edundancy.html

Iarnrod Éireann denies redundancy fund difficulties
Updated: 23:38, Monday, 16 July 2012

Iarnrod Éireann has denied that it has deferred staff redundancies because of difficulties in funding redundancy packages of up to €130,000 each.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed that 17 staff who were due to take voluntary severance will be forced to delay their departures.

This is despite the fact that the company is seeking up to 450 redundancies as part of a cost reduction programme.

The company said the redundancies were being deferred to ensure a "phasing of funding for cash flow management", and to preserve continuity of service.

However, a spokesperson said Iarnrod Éireann rejected suggestions that the company might have had any problem with access to funding from its banks to fund the redundancy lump sums.

The €45 million cost cutting programme includes changes in work practices, cuts in allowances, overtime, sick leave and other entitlements, apart from the 450 redundancies over four years

At present 160 staff have agreed exit terms; 43 have already gone, 17 were due to leave over the coming days and weeks, with around 100 awaiting confirmation of an exit date.

SIPTU official Paul Cullen confirmed that some of the staff involved were told within a week of their scheduled exit date that they could not be released.

One staff member said they had been told that a post retirement holiday that was already booked would have to be taken on the employee's own time, as they had already used up their leave entitlement ahead of the exit date given to them by the company.

However, the company spokesperson said that because the redundancies had been delayed by Iarnrod Éireann, the staff involved would be given paid leave to take pre-booked holidays.

Meanwhile, the company also confirmed that a number of executives "in single digits" had left under a separate more generous redundancy scheme established last year which pre-dated the current scheme.

It is understood executives were entitled to a package totalling up to one and a half times their annual salary.

The present scheme is capped at €130,000 per employee.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0718/rail.html

Union wants clarity on deferral of Iarnród Éireann redundancies
Updated: 23:13, Wednesday, 18 July 2012

The National Bus and Railworkers' Union has called on Iarnród Éireann to clarify why it has forced staff to defer taking redundancy within days of their scheduled exit dates.

Last Monday, the company denied that it could not currently afford to pay redundancy lump sums of up to a maximum of €130,000 to the 17 staff in the current wave of departures.

A spokesperson said the deferral is to ensure a "phasing of funding for cash flow management."

The spokesperson also said it is "to preserve continuity of service."

Iarnród Éireann is currently implementing an agreed cost reduction programme.

450 redundancies are being sought over four years, as are significant changes in terms and conditions.

However, NBRU Assistant General Secretary Dermot O'Leary accused the company of reneging on the implementation of a vital component of the agreement over redundancies.

Mr O'Leary said the company has reneged on implementing cost-cutting measures, which were having an immediate impact on union members.

He said it did not make sense for a company seeking 450 redundancies to prevent those who applied for it from leaving.

Mr O'Leary said that the NBRU is also concerned that executives may have left the company on far more attractive exit terms than those offered to his members.

Iarnród Éireann confirmed to RTÉ News on Monday that a number of executives "in single digits" had left under a separate redundancy scheme established last year, which pre-dated the current scheme.