WORKERS AT the troubled Waterford Crystal plant in Kilbarry yesterday criticised the Government over its refusal to act as guarantor for a €39 million loan to bail out the Waterford Wedgwood group.

Some workers fear the original request was a ploy by the company’s management, who needed an “excuse” to ship its operations to locations in Asia with cheaper workforces.

Edgar Evans, a blower at the plant for 26 years, said: “It could be only an excuse for the company to close it down now so they can say, ‘We tried’.

“The Government has let us down big-time,” said Mr Evans. “They needn’t come looking for votes here, plain and simple.”

Others were even more scathing of the Government.

Mossy Walker, a general operative at the plant for almost 39 years, said that the Government “should be ashamed of themselves”.

“You have people with an attitude saying that, ‘It’ll open the floodgates’ – it’s not going to open the floodgates.

“Brian Cowen is spineless and so is Bertie Ahern . . . I was a great supporter of that party until yesterday.”

Mr Walker said a “poisoned chalice” had been handed to the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan.

He said that Mr Cowen and Mr Ahern “knew four or five weeks ago that we weren’t getting that money”.

“How much have the tribunals cost for corruption? We’re only looking for an assured loan – we’re not looking for a penny from the coffers of the taxpayer in this country.

“As far as I’m concerned, I will never vote Fianna Fáil ever again.”

Ian Paul, a semi-skilled worker at the plant for more than 40 years, said: “I don’t know what way we’re going to go now.

“They [the Government] have got a lot of good money from Waterford Crystal over the years; when times were really good here it kept the economy afloat to a big extent.”

The company, which employed around 3,200 in Waterford in its late 1980s heyday, told staff last week that the plant will close for three weeks between now and the summer holidays in July, in what is viewed as one in series of desperate cutbacks.

Walter Cullen, the regional officer for the Unite trade union, yesterday described the decision as a “major setback”.

It was vital that all other options open to the company by the Government were explored, he said.

Mr Cullen said he also wanted to know what support could be offered by the Government’s State agencies.