9 July 1997
By Tom Shiel
There were only slender hopes last night (Tue) that the giant Asahi textile plant at Killala could be saved following the rejection by workers of a buyout deal.
The 320 employees of the Japanese owned synthetic fibre and spinning plant voted against the buyout package despite being warned that a "No" vote would mean the closure of the entire operation. Urgent, last ditch, moves to save the factory were continuing yesterday evening as representatives of the Japanese company made arrangements to come to Mayo and discuss the implications of the vote with Irish management.
Killala Community Council was keeping in close touch with the developing situation yesterday. It's Chairman, Sean Hannick, said: "This is devsastating news. If Asahi goes it will be a huge loss to the whole area".
Mr Hannick added: "We are trying to mediate. We want to see if something can be done to save this operation which means so much economically to the area".
Asahi has been in Mayo for over 20 years. Although its workforce has dipped slightly since the eighties, it is still the biggest employer in the region.
The management buy-out was agreed to by the Japanese parent company and the Government committed £3.5 million in the deal to save the jobs.
However, workers were concerned that their working conditions under the new arrangement would be worse than heretofore. They claimed that the new company structure would not give them any real say in decision making and that their request for an additional one per cent of voting shares had been rejected by management.
Following the ballot, SIPTU official Janet Hughes said the Union would be doing everything in its power to save the enterprise. Ms Hughes rejected suggestions that the workers had been too demanding given the gravity of the situation.
