SIPTU calls on Stryker for union recognition at Carrigtwohill site

INDUSTRIAL union SIPTU has called on the management of healthcare manufacturer Stryker to recognise it at their Anngrove site in Carrigtwohill where a workplace incident occurred on Tuesday, requiring two men to be hospitalised.

One man, aged in his early 40s, remains in a serious condition, with burns arising from the industrial incident which the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is investigating.

He was initially treated at Cork University Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and was placed on life support, and transferred later to Dublin.

Neil McGowan, Sector Organiser for SIPTU, said they wrote to the local management of Stryker this week, followed up by a letter to the company’s US headquarters, but have not received any response to date.

There have been three separate Labour Court recommendations concerning three of Stryker’s sites, but these are “recommendations only,” said Mr McGowan. The rulings relate to a range of issues, including health and safety.

“We haven’t had any response to the correspondence we put in this week. In the past they have said they prefer to deal directly with their employees,” he said.

Stryker does not recognise SIPTU at the three sites in Carrigtwohill but does recognise the union in Macroom and in Limerick.

Stryker bought a medical devices firm in Macroom, where SIPTU was already active. As part of the transfer, the company was required to continue to recognise the union.

RECOGNITION IN MACROOM AND LIMERICK

“We deal with them regularly at the Macroom site. We concluded a pay deal in Macroom earlier this year. We concluded one in Limerick last year. So there are normal industrial relations in Limerick and Macroom, and yet they refuse point blank to talk to us in the three sites in Carrigtwohill,” added Mr McGowan.

SIPTU would like to enter into a collective comprehensive agreement with Stryker, covering pay and terms and conditions. 

“Obviously health and safety has been an ongoing issue with these sites since 2019. It’s very much to the forefront of everybody’s mind at the moment for obvious reasons,” said Mr McGowan.

SIPTU would prefer a collective bargaining relationship between management and staff. At present, staff members in Carrigtwohill are dealt with on a personal basis based on performance reviews.

A SIPTU activist on site has been in touch with the family of the injured man, and the union extends its sympathies to him and his family, added Mr McGowan. 

“We would be happy to support them in any way we can.” 

SIPTU has been raising health and safety issues at the Carrigtwohill sites since 2019, and will continue to do so, he added.

Separately, a spokesperson for Stryker said, “the health and safety of our people is and always will be our main concern. Our thoughts are with the two people injured at our Anngrove facility and we are in communication with the families. 

"Our Employee Assistance Programme is available to all employees, and we have personnel onsite to support them.” 

Operations at Anngrove resumed on Wednesday following an inspection by the HSA. 

“We continue to work closely with the HSA as they carry out their investigations into the incident,” added the spokesperson.