A PRIEST who celebrated Christmas Mass at the Vita Cortex factory for workers engaged in the sit-in returned to the former foam plant over the weekend to officiate at a service marking the 100th day of the protest.
Fr Michael Murphy of Ballyphehane parish in Cork told employees it was extraordinary that they were still being left with little choice but to engage in a sit-in.
“It is sad – a hundred days in and we are back here again. We were here Christmas. Will we be here next Christmas? Who knows?
“At this Mass we ask God to bless our country, to bless everyone of you, to bless your homes, to bless your families and to pray that a solution might be found to the problem you have here.”
Among those who attended the Saturday morning Mass was Henry O’Reilly, a former Vita Cortex worker who is undergoing treatment for cancer.
Mr O’Reilly was diagnosed with cancer after he contracted what was suspected to have been pneumonia while supporting the sit-in protest at the plant.
While physically unable to continue the sit-in, he still visits the plant to support his former colleagues.
Speaking on Cork’s 96FM Mr O’Reilly said workers were buoyed by the support of the public.
“I really thought that it wouldn’t even last after the Christmas.
“But the support we got from people has encouraged us. It has been immense and amazing the local support, and up the country and people all over the world on Facebook. That is what has kept us here.”
The 32 workers engaged in the sit-in are particularly appreciative of the generosity shown to them by Cork-based pizza company Zico’s who have delivered food to the plant on a daily basis.
Last week employees and management accepted an invitation from the Labour Relations Commission to engage in a mediation process.
The workers are seeking redundancy payments of 0.9 weeks per year of service, on top of their statutory entitlements. They received their statutory entitlements of two weeks per year of service from the Department of Social Protection several weeks ago.
They have received messages of support from such well known figures as Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, former Irish international footballer Paul McGrath, actor Cillian Murphy, scholar Noam Chomsky and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.
Mr Adams has called on the plant’s owner to settle the dispute with workers, stressing that the situation has been allowed to “rumble on for far too long”.
“I would encourage the factory owner, Jack Ronan, to settle the dispute now in a manner acceptable to the workers,” he said.
“The Government’s inaction on this issue is unacceptable,” he added.
“Legislation must be brought forward immediately to ensure that a situation similar to this can never happen again.”