DHL employees, including the 20 in the company’s Athlone depot, have voted to accept the redundancy terms being offered them by the company.
The results of a ballot carried out among DHL’s 320 Irish employees were counted yesterday (Thursday ) afternoon, with an overwhelming majority of 93 per cent voting in favour of the redundancy package negotiated by their SIPTU union representatives.
A meeting was held of the Athlone workers on Wednesday morning this week, at which they were balloted regarding the terms, which will see each employee receive six weeks’ pay per year of service, inclusive of statutory redundancy.
However, it is hoped that a number of the workers at the Athlone DHL depot will be able to continue working on a self-employed basis.
“There is still scope for some of the workers to become self-employed under the Service Partner Model. All employees in Athlone have been made redundant and will receive the redundancy terms, but the potential exists for some of those workers to retain their employment,” explained SIPTU branch organiser Pat Ward.
“Our objective all along has been to save as many jobs as possible and keep people in employment. While we were not able to keep the depots open and preserve direct employment this will at least provide good employment opportunities for the workers affected.
“We are also working with the company to reduce the job losses proposed at the three central depots in Dublin, Cork and Shannon.”
DHL announced in May that it was seeking to reduce its employee numbers by up to 320. This would include the restructuring of operations in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick and the closure of up to seven regional depots, including Athlone, where 20 people are currently employed.
