SIPTU members at aviation firm, PWAI International Ltd. (PWAI), in Rathcoole, county Dublin, are seeking funds from the European Globalisation Fund for the training and upskilling of workers who are due to lose their jobs when the plant closes at the end of March. Their request follows the announcement by the Department of Education that it has sought approval from the European Commission for €2.5 million from the European Globalisation Fund to assist with the retraining of former employees of Lufthansa Technik Airmotive (LTAI) who lost their jobs when the aviation company closed its plant in Rathcoole in late 2013. SIPTU Organiser, Karl Byrne, said: “We welcome the decision by the Department of Education to seek approval from the European Commission for €2.5million from the European Globalisation Fund to help the former LTAI employees. We are hopeful that this will be approved in the near future and will be used to assist those workers affected by the sudden closure of the plant to acquire new opportunities through training and upskilling.” He said that representatives from the three unions at LTAI (SIPTU, Unite and the TEEU) were involved in the preparatory work with the Department of Education in putting together this application. “We are asking the department to make an application for similar assistance from the Globalisation Fund for the employees in PWAI, including 44 members of SIPTU. The majority of workers are due to leave the facility by the end of March so there is an urgency to this request,” Karl Byrne said. PWAI, which is located across the road from the closed LTAI plant in Rathcoole, is to close due to extra capacity worldwide and the impact of globalisation on the aviation industry.
SIPTU seeks funds from Globalisation Fund for PWAI workers in Rathcoole
