Guinness workers vote for free beer for 10 years
Guinness workers in Dundalk have accepted a redundancy deal which includes free beer for the next 10 years.
The workers voted by four to one to accept one of the most lucrative redundancy packages in Irish history.
The deal for the 140 workers includes pensions at 45 and lump sums of up to £137,000, along with free beer, health insurance and scholarships for schoolchildren for the next 10 years.
It will mean the closure of the beer packaging plant in Dundalk at the end of July. The plant was due to close last month, but this was postponed after a strike over Easter.
Guinness has also agreed to make a special £5,000 contribution to the staff pensioners' club in compensation for the closure of the factory pub used by staff in Dundalk. This was a popular spot for cut-price beer on Friday evenings.
As well as the continuing weekly beer allowance, some staff are also guaranteed a Christmas and midsummer hamper of drink.
A spokesman for Guinness's parent company Diageo says beer allowances are common in the industry and work out at about 14 bottles a week. The special hampers are provided in lieu of seasonal parties for the workers.
The pension part of the deal alone will cost the company £14.5m, it has been reported. Staff will continue to qualify for a special "death-in-service" payment over the next 10 years.
The complicated deal, with lump sums varying from £37,000 to £137,000 for those not entitled to a pension, was agreed at the Labour Relations Commission following weeks of negotiations.
A union source said that the Dundalk redundancy deal would be so expensive that it might force Guinness management to reconsider whether it could afford further closures.
