SIPTU has announced a four-hour work stoppage and pickets at Kostal’s Abbeyfeale plant in County Limerick for Monday, 16 November, starting at 2.30pm. The union’s statement, published on 30 October, says the dispute concerns redundancy terms and arrangements for workers who will remain at the plant.

The original SIPTU announcement says notice is being served for industrial action and that further escalation may be considered. The scheduled action is a future development; this report does not describe a stoppage already taking place.

The announcement is significant for the Abbeyfeale workforce and households in the surrounding West Limerick and North Kerry area. For employees following the dispute, several separate issues need to be kept clear: the proposed action, negotiations over an exit package, statutory redundancy, notice and other final-pay entitlements.

What the union has announced

SIPTU reports that members rejected the company’s voluntary severance terms by 96%, followed by votes of 90% for industrial action and 85% for strike action. These are the union’s reported ballot results; The Press has not independently examined ballot records.

The statement describes the planned redundancies as affecting 140 workers, with departures at the end of March 2027. That timetable is attributed to the union. It says it remains willing to negotiate directly or with the Workplace Relations Commission’s assistance.

Radio Kerry reported the announcement on 30 October at 6.31pm. Its account draws on the union statement and is not separate confirmation of private negotiations. The Press has not verified a current employer response to this specific announcement.

The job-reduction plan predates this action notice

The latest development is the announced industrial action over terms. The underlying restructuring was already public earlier in 2026.

In RTÉ’s report of 6 February, Kostal’s plan for 140 job cuts in Abbeyfeale was linked to its earlier decision to transfer production of on-board charger products out of Ireland. Those products allow electric vehicles to charge from the electricity grid.

At that time, the company said it intended to maintain a presence in Ireland and continue a range of activities in Abbeyfeale. It also said the restructuring did not affect its Mallow operations in County Cork. These are historical company statements reported in February, rather than a newly verified response to the October dispute.

The distinction prevents two misleading readings: that 140 additional job losses have just been announced, or that a planned four-hour stoppage establishes that the whole Abbeyfeale site is closing. Neither conclusion follows from the material checked for this article.

What WRC conciliation can do

The WRC’s explanation of conciliation describes a voluntary process in which an impartial industrial relations officer helps the parties seek agreement. Company restructuring and proposed changes to employment conditions are among the issues it handles.

The parties retain control of the outcome. A conciliator can explore options and put forward settlement proposals, but the process does not impose an agreement on an employer or union. Participation and acceptance of a settlement are voluntary.

That is different from an adjudication deciding a complaint under employment legislation. A reference to possible WRC assistance should not be read as confirmation that a hearing has been arranged, that a legal breach has been found or that a particular package will result.

The service is free to users and available around the country. It is also confidential, which limits what can responsibly be inferred from the absence of detailed public accounts of discussions. Any future announcement of talks, a settlement or a changed action schedule needs its own current confirmation.

Statutory redundancy and a negotiated package

The WRC’s redundancy guidance distinguishes a statutory payment from agreements above that minimum. In general, statutory eligibility requires the age requirement of 16 or over, 104 weeks’ continuous service and fully insurable employment, with the job ceasing to exist.

For an eligible employee, the statutory calculation is two weeks’ gross pay for each year of service plus one bonus week. The weekly pay used in that calculation is capped at €600. This is not a statement that every employee at Abbeyfeale qualifies or that their entire severance package is limited to that formula.

A negotiated agreement may provide more than the statutory rate. Its value depends on the actual terms, including what is included in the headline figure and how service and pay are defined. No verified current offer document or settlement text has been obtained for this report, so it would be misleading to calculate an individual Kostal package from the union’s announcement.

Consultation has its own rules

The WRC’s collective redundancy guidance explains the information and consultation requirements where a proposal meets the statutory thresholds. Employers must consult employees’ representatives for at least 30 days and notify the relevant minister.

The information provided to representatives includes the reasons, affected numbers and categories, proposed timing, selection criteria and the method for calculating payments above statutory redundancy. The rules also restrict redundancy notices during consultation and dismissals within the period following ministerial notification.

These are general legal requirements. The announcement of a dispute over terms does not, by itself, establish whether every requirement in a particular consultation has been met. That would require the actual records and, where disputed, an appropriate determination.

Employees comparing consultation, industrial-action notice and their own leaving date should keep the documents separate. A consultation timetable is not automatically the same thing as an individual employee’s notice period or an agreement on enhanced payments.

These consultation protections have their own coverage rules and do not depend on having two years’ service, the threshold commonly encountered for statutory redundancy pay. A shorter-serving employee should therefore check the consultation rules separately from the payment rules.

Notice is separate from redundancy pay

Under the WRC’s minimum-notice guidance, employer notice generally increases with continuous service: one week after 13 weeks, two weeks at two years, four weeks at five years, six weeks at ten years and eight weeks for service beyond fifteen years.

An employment contract can provide a longer period. The WRC also explains the possibility of accepting payment instead of working notice; where an employer does not require an employee to work part of their notice, payment for that period is required.

This is a separate question from the statutory redundancy calculation. When reviewing any written proposal, useful points to clarify are the contractual notice period, whether it will be worked, and whether a stated total includes a payment in lieu.

A future date mentioned in a union press release should not substitute for the employee’s own written notice and applicable terms. The correct position depends on their circumstances and documentation.

Outstanding annual leave needs checking too

The WRC’s annual-leave guidance says employees leaving employment are entitled to payment for outstanding annual leave. That is another item to distinguish from a redundancy lump sum.

A useful final-pay breakdown identifies wages, accrued leave, notice-related payments, statutory redundancy and any additional agreed severance separately. This makes it easier to understand what a headline total includes and to raise a specific query about an apparent omission.

Leave records can also require attention where there has been certified sickness or another type of protected leave. The WRC guidance explains relevant accrual and carry-over rules. An employee should not assume that an unused balance shown on a particular payslip necessarily answers every question about their final entitlement.

Using the official calculator

The Department of Social Protection’s MyWelfare redundancy calculator provides an estimate of statutory redundancy. It does not calculate an enhanced company agreement or decide whether an employer’s proposed terms should be accepted.

The calculator asks for employment information such as start and end dates, normal gross weekly pay and applicable breaks in service. It does not require a MyGovID account. Its published explanation says the service is anonymous.

The practical preparation is to have accurate employment records available before using the official tool, then check assumptions that do not fit a straightforward employment history with an appropriate adviser. An estimate based on an assumed departure date should be treated as an estimate, particularly while negotiations or employment arrangements remain unresolved.

For example, using the published formula, ten complete years of qualifying service and weekly pay at or above the €600 ceiling would produce an estimated statutory amount of €12,600: 21 weeks multiplied by €600. This is a simplified illustration, not a calculation for any named worker. It excludes enhanced severance, notice pay and outstanding leave, and does not determine the tax treatment of any separate payment.

Where workers can get further information

The government’s overview of redundancy and employee entitlements brings together the relevant official services. It directs general employment-rights queries to the WRC and identifies Intreo as a contact point for employment and income-support services.

For someone facing a possible departure, keeping the employer’s written proposal, contract, service dates, payslips and leave information together can make a query more precise. Individual eligibility, service calculations, tax treatment and any agreement requiring a signature need advice based on the person’s own documents.

The present verified development is SIPTU’s action announcement. The planned stoppage remains subject to subsequent developments, and no settlement or completed action is established here. This article reflects sources checked on 31 October; it is periodic reporting rather than continuous observation of the workplace or negotiations.