THE HIGH Court has granted an application by Dairygold Co-op to dismiss as "frivolous and vexatious" claims against it by a former employee that he was entitled to better redundancy terms than those agreed by the company and Siptu.
Maurice O'Brien, who had worked as a general operative at Dairygold's bacon products plant at Mitchelstown, Co Cork, for some 30 years until 2004, took his action after receiving some €84,000 in redundancy payments. He alleged a conspiracy involving Dairygold and Siptu.
Some 26 other claims have been brought by other former Dairygold workers and these have been adjourned.
Mr O'Brien (50), of Carrigane, Mitchelstown, had taken the proceedings against Dairygold and Siptu. He claimed that redundancy terms secured in his case were improvident and unenforceable and of considerably less value than an agreement made in 2003 between the company and himself. Mr O'Brien began working with Dairygold in September 1975 and claimed his purported redundancy in October 2004 was invalid.
On September 10th, 2004, he said he had received a letter from the company regarding a "voluntary early retirement offer", which suggested that, if he was interested, he should sign it and return it by September 15th.
He had not signed to accept voluntary redundancy but merely signed a request for more details, he said. On September 21st, a trade union official had confirmed to a general meeting of workers that the terms on offer were not further negotiable and must be accepted or refused by 5pm that day.
Mr O'Brien said his acceptance of the terms offered was null and void because it was not entered into by him of his own free will but was procured by threats, intimidation, oppression and bullying by the defendants.
The case was before Mr Justice Liam McKechnie yesterday via a preliminary application by Dairygold to have it struck out as frivolous and vexatious.
Tom Mallon, for Dairygold, said Mr O'Brien's redundancy payment was about €83,892 net after deductions from a figure of €129,474. He said Mr O'Brien had delayed in bringing his claim and never sought to refund the money.
Mr Justice McKechnie said Mr O'Brien had received the redundancy cheque and cashed it and had done nothing further until February 2007. He could not see how Mr O'Brien had any action against Dairygold in the circumstances.
