Marian Harkin MEP meets SIPTU and Bose workers in Carrickmacross Photo: SIPTU

Workers from the Bose factory which the company has announced will be closed by June have held a meeting held in Carrickmacross with the Independent MEP Marian Harkin. They were accompanied by the SIPTU Industrial Organiser Jim McVeigh. Monaghan Councillor Paudge Connolly also attended the discussions, which explored whether the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) could be activated for the 140 workers due to lose their jobs.

Marian Harkin said afterwards the Fund could be used for retraining or increasing skills, or for workers who might like to set up their own business. In certain cases subsidies could be paid to local employers who would take on redundant Bose workers for a guaranteed period of time. The MEP is the author of the regulation for the Fund that is available for redundant workers across the EU. This Fund can be applied for wherever jobs are lost due to globalisation and the impact of the redundancies on the local area is significant. The fund is also available to any other workers who lose jobs that are involved in supplying the Bose factory or in transport, haulage, or related services, or any workers whose employment is dependent on the Bose factory.

Marian Harkin MEP Photo: European Parliament

There is also an opportunity to apply to the Fund for an equal number of young people from the region who are not in employment, education or training. This means that up to 300 people might be able to avail of the Fund. Marian Harkin said the Fund might provide opportunities for workers made redundant and while it was only a start, it could at least be a stepping stone to future employment.

A public meeting is going to be organised in Carrick in the next few weeks for all the workers and members of the public who are interested. Details will be made available within the next few days. The MEP said she had worked with many other groups of workers who had accessed the Globalisation Fund, such as DELL workers and the Waterford Crystal workers. “ I would be more than happy to assist Bose workers in any application they might make for the Fund and its rollout”, Marian Harkin concluded.