Remarks to the Vita Cortex Workers
Áras an Uachtaráin, 17 July 2012
You are all most welcome to Áras an Uachtaráin. I can appreciate that after a long and stressful struggle that you needed some time for and your loved ones; 161 days is a long time.
When I got the request from Patricia King to meet the former workers and their families, I was more than happy to accede to that request. I had spoken about your long wait for a fair and just resolution when I spoke at the unveiling of a memorial to the 1912 Lockout in Wexford in May.
The resilience and dignity that you as former workers in Vita Cortex showed during a difficult and protracted dispute was a great exercise in solidarity with each other.
The ultimate resolution of the dispute that was achieved by people of goodwill and good sense working together through the processes of the Labour Relations Commission and achieving an outcome that could be accepted as fair and reasonable, is to your great credit, your union and all those who helped you.
I am very conscious that a protracted dispute of this nature exacts a very heavy personal toll – not just on the workers involved but also on their families. I am delighted too at the broader solidarity shown by the public to you the workers and your families at a time of great stress and need.
Therefore, now that the dispute has come to an end, I am delighted to welcome you all to the Áras and I hope you enjoy your visit here in the company of family and friends.
May I wish you and all the workers, every good wish for the future.
Guím gach beannacht oraibh d’on todhchaí