By Claire Corrigan
A number of workers from Mullingar’s Imperial Tobacco have spoken to Topic ahead of Friday’s closure to voice their concerns about their future job prospects.
One of the workers said there is a melancholy atmosphere at the facility, open since 1967. “At the moment as you can imagine, the mood is very sombre. Some people have already left who have holidays or are doing courses and you have people who are on a week on and week off.”
“There is just a general feeling of sadness among the people who have been there for years. A lot of the people have been there their whole lives from their mid to late teens and have never worked outside of a factory. It’s particularly sad for them.”
Another worker said downbeat ambience was tinged with fear as many of the workers worry about finding another job. “A lot of people are afraid because they have been here for so long. It’s the fear of the unknown. They don’t know what is going to happen after, because some of them have been there for 48 years. They’re here a lifetime.”
One worker, who has been at the facility for 20 years said that many believed that the factory was ‘recession-proof’.
“It didn’t affect the tobacco industry in the same way it would have affected say, the building trade. We sailed through it actually. We did see people in good jobs at the time lose their jobs but we didn’t think it was going to come our way. For me it really was a shock. For the first six weeks it was like you heard the news but you still didn’t believe it and you kind of went into a false sense of security. But then reality hits and you start applying and looking for jobs and find there are no jobs in town.”
Another worker agrees saying that Mullingar is being “skipped over” for manufacturing jobs. “Since the recession until now, it’s terrible to see all factory, pharmaceutical and manufacturing jobs either staying in Dublin or skipping Mullingar and going to Athlone. We have three sitting TDs and prior TDs never got anything into Mullingar.
For the likes of us that lost our jobs, there’s nothing there. We all had a ten minute trip basically to the factory and now, looking around for jobs outside of Mullingar, you’re looking at 40 minutes minimum travel time to and from work. I think support from the TDs in town regarding the closure and other closures has been very weak.”
“There’s just nothing in town anymore.”
Another worker said that despite actively looking for a job, he has yet to secure employment. “I’ve sent out CVs but nothing positive has come back. If you look at the County Council job that went recently1,500 were looking for two spots, it’s an example of how tough it is. Basically for us in manufacturing around Mullingar there is nothing. There are people out there who are highly skilled with machines and other people who are skilled in computers and if they want work they’ll probably have to head towards Dublin, Athlone, Galway or wherever the work is.”
“There are people who have spent more time at that factory than they have at home and it is like a family. They’re basically saying good luck to their pals that they have known their whole life. The biggest thing is the fear of the unknown. What’s going to happen next?”
