Greg Canty Fuzion Blog

Healthy Attitude?

Irish Examiner today (16th April, 2011) – Vultures part 2 ..

In a statement yesterday Aetna management said that the proposals submitted by the staff “did not support their strategic objectives for the global service strategy“.

This statement was made in response to proposals submitted by employees, which included more flexible work practices and offers to work additional hours – this is all in an attempt to keep the facility open and save the 100 jobs.

I don’t know any of the background to this but I do know Aetna were more than happy with the plant as it expanded less than  3 years ago.

If you were one of their workers, surely you would deserve more than that statement after over 20 years .. Is this how we have come to look after people?

The really ironic thing is what Aetna actually do:

Aetna Global Benefits (AGB), the international division of Aetna Inc., is a provider of comprehensive health benefits solutions for multinational employers and government agencies. AGB’s offerings include medical, dental, vision, life, disability, emergency assistance and health management programmes for employees and high net worth individuals who live, work or travel internationally.

Healthy attitude I would say ..

Just two and a half years ago at the 20 years anniversary and expansion announcement (no doubt complete with mega grants)  Martha R. Temple, President of Aetna Global Benefits issue the following statement in September 2008:

“The Castleisland facility has gained an excellent reputation within Aetna as having a highly skilled and productive workforce. In 2003, we chose this site as the pilot location for our Aetna Global Benefits business serving expatriates outside the U.S. The pilot has proven successful, so we are moving forward with our expansion of the facility. I am proud that we are in a position to mark our 20th anniversary in Ireland with this expansion and a clear commitment for the future.”

Knowing the state of the Irish Economy and considering the length of service and apparent success of the plant everything should be done to keep this facility open.

Sad, very sad.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Tags: Aetna, Aetna Castleisland, Customer Care, Fuzion, Fuzion Communications, Fuzion PR, Greg Canty, Martha R. Temple, Recession, Recession in Ireland

This entry was posted on April 16, 2011 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Customer Care, Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.