Staff of insolvent Irish parcels and trucking firm Target Express yesterday ended their sit-ins andprotests at several depots after being promised they would be paid as soon as possible.
Angry workers had occupied company premises at Cork and blocked entrances to several otherdepots, including Dublin, in protest at not having been informed about the company’s financialsituation before its sudden collapse at the start of this week. Customer shipments were leftstanding in warehouses because of the action.
As CEP-Research reported yesterday (August 30), Target Express, registered as College FreightLtd, declared itself insolvent after the Irish tax authorities froze its bank accounts over debtsof some €500,000. Nearly 400 staff were left out of work and facing a long wait for unpaidsalaries.
However, staff agreed to end their protests after liquidators promised at meetings at severaldepots that their outstanding pay and redundancy claims would be processed as quickly as possible,although this could still take some 4-6 months, according to Irish media reports.
This means that the company liquidators now have full possession of all Target Express depotsand their assets, including trucks and vans, as well as customer shipments in the Republic ofIreland, the Irish Independent newspaper reported.
The Irish Examiner newspaper reported that some competitors were interested in taking oversome parts of the insolvent company and deals could be reached as quickly as this weekend.
Prior to its collapse, Target Express described itself as “the largest privately-ownedtransport and distribution company in Ireland” with 12 depots in the Republic of Ireland and fourin the UK, as well as four logistics warehouses.
