Vita Cortex sit-in

Vita Cortex sit-in
Part of anti-austerity protests in Ireland
Signs outside the Vita Cortex premises in March 2012
DateFrom 16 December 2011 to Thursday 24 May 2012
Location
Cork, Ireland
Caused byRedundancy without pay
Methods
Statusended the 161st day of the sit-in

The Vita Cortex sit-in was a peaceful protest at the Vita Cortex plant on the Kinsale Road in Cork, Ireland, which began on 16 December 2011 after workers were made redundant without pay with immediate effect. The dispute led to nationwide protests, television appeals and debates in Dáil Éireann.[1][2] According to the trade union UNITE, the dispute was part of a growing trend of workers being "left in the cold" after being made redundant.[3]

The staff had worked for a total of 847 years for Vita Cortex, with the most senior employee having worked there for 47 years.[4] The strike received support from, among others, the Cork senior hurling team, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, human rights campaigner Noam Chomsky, international soccer player Paul McGrath, musician Christy Moore, film and theatre actor Cillian Murphy, and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.[5][6]

The 160-day sit-in was ended in May 2012, after the workers started receiving redundancy payments.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference irish_independent_11_01_2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference irish_times_13_01_2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Union says ex-workers being 'left in the cold' by NAMA, banks". TheJournal.ie. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference cork_independent_21_12_2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference irish_times_12_01_2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference joe_stick_in_there was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Vita Cortex workers "thrilled" as they prepare to depart plant tomorrow". The Journal. 23 May 2012.