STAFF WORKING at the German-owned Lufthansa Technik Airmotive plant in Dublin have been warned that hundreds of jobs are a risk because of an ongoing industrial dispute under which overtime has been banned for the last three months.

RTÉ reports that unions introduced the ban after the company refused to implement part of a pay increase due to staff under the national wage agreement.

The Rathcoole-based plant employs over 460 people. The company said consumer confidence had been eroded and trading losses are expected as a knock-on result of the overtime ban.

The UNITE trade union described the company’s statement as “hasty and unhelpful” this evening.

The union’s regional officer Willie Quigley said in a statement that a set of proposals had been produced through discussions at the Labour Relations Commission and with local management, but that the company said yesterday that the proposals were being reconsidered.

Quigley claimed the CEO had “issued a doomsday ultimatum which will cause great distress among workers and their families”.

Minister Richard Bruton said in a statement that he was concerned about the ongoing industrial dispute. He said that in the interest of “ensuring the continued viability of the operation”, both parties should meet under the Labour Relations Commission to explore ways to reach a resolution.