Government Should Step In To Support Fastway Workers

Fastway workers have been protesting outside the company’s depot in Greenogue, Co Dublin. They also took their protest to the gates of the Dáil this week. Workers have been left in the lurch without wages or welfare.

Nuvion Group which includes Parcel Connect, Fastway Couriers Ireland and Nügo has gone into receivership. Mark Degnan and Brendan O’Reilly of Interpath Advisory have now been appointed as receivers.

“The CEOs of the company had a meeting (with the receivers) Tuesday morning, they were appointed receivers straight away and Tuesday evening the receivers walked onto the depot floor and shut the place down” said driver Keith Corr.

Up to 1,000 jobs will go, after the 300 directly employed workers, when all workers and franchise operators are taken into account.

But as usual it’s the workers who made all the company’s profits that end up last in the queue when companies go belly up. Workers have been told to work another 30 days without wages or welfare if they want to get redundancy payments.

Worker Kim Wilson said they might have to wait until February before they get any redundancy payments: “We can claim back what we’re owed, and wages from the Government, but it’ll be capped at €600.”

The vultures loaded debts onto the company and workers pay the price. Elysian Capital acquired Fastway from MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland and Woodberry Ireland Capital in 2022 for €33 million.

The purchase was partly financed by debt provided by an external lender, Muzinich Private Debt, and working capital facilities from AIB.

When Elysian Capital acquired Fastway for €33 million, the transaction was structured as a “leveraged buyout”. A significant portion of the purchase price was borrowed money from lenders, primarily Muzinich Private Debt and AIB.

This debt was put onto Fastway’s books. These vultures expected profits would come in from online sales driving deliveries. But that didn’t happen. The company had this debt burden and workers are paying for it now.

Elysian Capital uses umbrellas to get limited liability. Across their 3 funds Elysian has £700 million. Capitalism is a sick system where we workers do all the work, generate all the profits with our blood, sweat and tears and then the bosses scarper after piling the cost of their debts onto our backs!

In the short term the government needs to step in and support these workers. In the long term we need a socialist, planned economy, where workers are in the driving seat and vultures don’t get a look in.