Workers at the Irish Glass Bottle plant in Ringsend have voted by a substantial majority to accept a survival plan that will save most of the factory's jobs.
Parent company Ardagh said last week it would continue glass production at Ringsend subject to a positive outcome of the workforce ballot on the survival plan and suitable support from customers on price and volumes.
"It has been passed by a substantial majority and I'm comfortable that it is a working majority, and that we can go on and do business successfully," said SIPTU branch secretary, Mr John Flannery.
Ardagh announced at the end of February that it planned to close the Ringsend plant in May because it had become increasingly uncompetitive and, without major improvements in work practices, it had no future.
But in early March, the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) invited both sides to take part in negotiations to keep the plant operational.
A survival plan, which proposes major changes to work practices and a new industrial relations culture, was agreed by management and unions last week following six days of negotiations at the LRC.
"We're delighted with this turn-around," said Mr Flannery. "Two-and-a-half weeks ago, we were looking into a black hole. The board had taken a decision which seemed irreversible but a lot of credit is due to the LRC, which came up with this initiative, employers' organisation IBEC, the company representatives, the two unions and the staff representatives in particular who played a good game in bringing this about."
Mr Flannery said a meeting would take place next week involving himself, Mr Eamonn Devoy of the TEEU, Ms Sophie Crosbie of IBEC and Mr John Agnew of the LRC to draft an implementation framework to implement the survival plan.
"This is going to take time," said Mr Flannery. "This is not going to be an overnight situation. There's a lot to be done here, a lot of training, a lot of reorientation and planning."
The restructuring programme will see the number of jobs cut from 375 to 325, a change in shift patterns with the company moving from three eight-hour shifts to a two 12-hour continental shift system and a move away from an overtime culture to annualised hours.
The changes in work practices will also see the removal of demarcation lines and a move to teamworking, while some plant maintenance work will be contracted out.
"I imagine it will be implemented incrementally, for instance, introducing the shift change and there will have to be a software package designed for the annualised hours," said Mr Flannery.
"It will be two to three months before full implementation and, even then, there will be a learning curve in getting people to work in teams. You don't reorientate people overnight."
