Union organisers are requesting a sit-down with Stryker management after employees had to be evacuated for a second time this month when a fire took hold in one of its Cork facilities.
The Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) said those working at Stryker plants in Cork have let their deep concerns known after the latest fire, Cork Beo reports.
A warning was raised yesterday morning after staff were evacuated from the Tullagreen site at the Business and Technology Park in Carrigtwohill due to the fire. There were no injuries arising from the most recent incident.
The alarm was raised when staff saw smoke rising from a piece of machinery on site.
Employees were sent home in the aftermath as both local authorities and emergency services investigated the source.
Following last week's fire, a 41-year-old man was injured and remains on life support at Cork University Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery. A second individual received some hospital treatment and is recovering at home.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Neil McGowan, stated that the latest incident at the Tullagreen plant further shows the "requirement for a full safety audit of the Stryker facilities."
"Our members are seriously concerned about their safety and want to see immediate action taken by the employer and the Health and Safety Authority to ensure the company’s obligations to provide a safe working environment are being fully met," he said.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin wants the company to liaise with the union's representatives.
SIPTU is seeking a meeting with both local management and senior members of Stryker, including the Global Head of Environment, Health and Safety.
According to SIPTU, there are three Labour Court recommendations saying the company needs to engage with the union on their sites. They stressed that the company's refusal to engage with them is "no longer tenable at this point."
SIPTU Manufacturing Division Organiser, Greg Ennis, said: "We have previously written to senior management, initially in June 2019, about health and safety concerns expressed by workers at the Stryker sites in Carrigtwohill.
"Regrettably, Stryker management in Carrigtwohill has refused to even recognise our correspondence, let alone respond to it positively. This is in contrast to our positive relationship with Stryker management at their plants in Limerick and Mallow, county Cork."
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