Unions hit out at Government after latest job losses

Stunned by the scale of the cuts, angry union leaders hit out at yesterday's €7bn banks bail-out as the country's unemployment rate hurtled towards 10%.

Both Opposition politicians and officials from trade union Siptu warned the job losses could have a severe knock-on effect, sparking a further 5,000-10,000 redundancies in and around the city.

Siptu's Dermot O'Loughlin said: "They can see fit to put €7bn into banks and they can't see fit to try and survive a company that is truly Irish in its nature and workforce.

"We'd be calling on the Government to step in right away, no task force, no messing about, just put this business back on track."

The firms are the latest in a long line of high profile, mostly foreign owned, employers to make massive cuts since the beginning of the year including PC-maker Dell which slashed 1,900 staff, Boston Scientific and Ulster Bank.

SR Technics claimed the Dublin business was too expensive with once lucrative contracts no longer covering the wage and operating bills. It lost four contracts with Gulf Air and Aer Lingus in the last 13 months.

Mr O'Loughlin said: "The Government, owning 25% of it (Aer Lingus), is sitting idly by when the Aer Lingus contracts came up."

SR Technics chief executive Bernd Kessler insisted Cork operations would not be affected.

Ryanair is reducing its Dublin-based fleet by four this summer and cutting 200 jobs - pilots, cabin crew and engineers - blaming a controversial €10 travel tax for driving away business. The airline said it expects more cuts later in the year.

The Labour Party also blamed the Government for not doing enough to secure the jobs.

Tommy Broughan, transport spokesman, said: "Many SR Technics workers are profoundly upset that more was not done at an earlier stage by the Government and the IDA (Industrial Development Agency) to try and save as many as jobs as possible at the company."

Fine Gael TD Dr James Reilly warned of the knock-on effect.

"This will also have a spiralling effect on the area as revenue is removed from the local economy and SR Technics' suppliers lose business and further jobs," Dr Reilly said.

"I have it on good authority that when the Aer Lingus contracts were withdrawn from this company the Government were advised of the inevitability of this day."

Pensions are guaranteed, SR Technics said, and it is hoped 200 jobs can be saved if other maintenance firms at the airport take on existing contracts.

"That's the only good news coming out of all of this," a Unite union official said.

SR Technics, which has its head office in Zurich Airport, took on the maintenance work in Dublin in 2004.

Gulf Air informed executives at the end of last year that it planned to wind down its relationship with the firm by June this year, hitting operations in Bahrain, Zurich and Dublin. Aer Lingus cancelled three contracts almost a year ago.

New working arrangements brought in last summer to save €5m a year failed to guarantee the future of the Dublin plant.

Unite regional organiser Willie Quigley, representing more than 400 employees, said meetings with management were being lined up to push for a survival plan.

"We believe that this move, straight away to closure, is too extreme in the context of existing contracts which the company holds at Dublin Airport," Mr Quigley said.

In a letter to union leaders and staff, Mr Kessler blamed the loss of three vital contracts and Ireland's high operating costs for the shock move.

"We are announcing this deeply regrettable and difficult step only after an exhaustive evaluation of all strategic options for our group wide operations," Mr Kessler said.

Meanwhile, Ryanair chief Micheal O'Leary again attacked the Government for its tourist levy: "This Government must realise you can only promote tourism by welcoming visitors, not taxing them."

Last week the airline announced 100 job cuts at its Shannon base in the west of Ireland and also warned the knock-on effect could see another 700 support staff axed.