Dell workers to go to court over redundancy terms

21 Aug 2009

The soon-to-be-redundant Dell workers in Limerick are understood to be taking a case to the Labourt Court in a bid to secure an improved redundancy package for their 1,900 colleagues.

It is understood they are seeking a judgement under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 which approves the action if the applicants accept that the court’s findings are full and final.

The workers are preparing their case and are expected to submit their report before the end of the month.

Dell is not obliged to take part in the case but may decide to submit evidence.

It is understood that the Dell Workers Committee, which is working closely with Labour MEP Alan Kelly, are aggrieved that the company has refused to meet with them over grievances they have over the proposed redundancy package.

In January the 1,900 workers learned that the computer manufacturer was closing its Limerick operation and moving it to a new location in Poland.

Once the Limerick operation closes later this year, Dell will continue to employ a further 2,000 people in Cherrywood in Dublin in higher end technology-based roles including controlling functions across EMEA as well as analytics and purchasing, wireless R&D.

By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com