Two trade unions want to be joined to High Court proceedings brought against the Government by the Greencore group in order to ensure that former employees receive their full redundancy entitlements, the High Court was told yesterday.
Greencore is opposing the application by Siptu and the TEEU.
Counsel for the unions told Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday that his application for the unions to be involved as notice parties was to ensure redundancy payments were paid in line with a Labour Court recommendation.
The Government had allocated €28.4 million for redundancy payments, based on information supplied from Greencore in relation to what was recommended by the Labour Court, but the Labour Court recommendation was for some €4 million more than that figure, counsel said.
Paul Sreenan SC, for Greencore, said his client was opposed to the unions being joined to the action. They would use it to mount "a collateral attack" when Greencore intended to pay whatever the employees' legitimate entitlements were. The matter of how that was funded was of no concern to the unions.
Mr Justice Kelly gave counsel for the unions leave to bring a motion to be joined as notice parties, and adjourned other procedural matters relating to the forthcoming action, being heard in the Commercial Court, for further directions in four weeks' time.
The Greencore group last July initiated its proceedings against the Government. It alleges unlawful interference and objective bias by the Government in directing how the company should allocate €145.5 million in EU restructuring aid following the rationalisation of the European sugar industry.
It claims the Government's decision is "fundamentally legally flawed", unconstitutional and in breach of EU regulations to reform the sugar industry.