At a meeting with workers representatives in Bord na Mona which took place at Leinster House today (Wednesday) it emerged that the company are seeking a 30% wage decrease as well as some redundancies. This would mean that a seasonal worker’s wages would be cut back from 12.000 Euro to 8,000 Euro. This news comes with the backdrop that the company had it’s most profitable year ever in 2014 with profits up 113%.
It is very important to remember that every Euro paid to workers …in Bord na Mona is spent in the local economy and that any reduction in pay or in the numbers employed will have a negative effect on that. I accept that there needs to be savings in terms of producing energy but these savings can be achieved in other ways. It is proposed that there will be a reduction in the price of a tonne of peat from 35 Euro down to 24.65 Euro in order for Bord na Mona to compete in the market and they are looking for a reduction in operating costs of 24.2 million Euro. It should also be noted that Bord na Mona paid a total of 17 million Euro in Carbon Tax last year. that is a huge figure and maybe there can be something done in that regard.
From what we have seen so far Born na Mona have gone about this process in a very undemocratic and ruthless fashion and the people at the top will have to take a look at themselves and how they have behaved in this regard. There must be a realistic solution arrived at in the long run. There are savings that can be achieved in Bord na Mona but every Euro of a reduction in pay and every job lost in the company will have a seriously negative effect on the local economy throughout the region. I will be doing everything I can to facilitate a solution to the current problems.