Representatives of workers at the Richardson's fertiliser plant in Belfast have said they are extremely disappointed after meeting the Irish Government and ICI to try to resolve a dispute over redundancy pay and pensions.

Union leaders representing many of the workers traveled to Dublin on Friday for what they hoped would be "make or break" talks with the government and ICI, which are joint owners of the company.

The announcement that Richardson's was to go into liquidation with the closure of its plants in Belfast, Cork and Arklow, was made last month. In Belfast, 206 people have lost their jobs.

Workers were dismayed to discover that the Irish Government, the 51% shareholder, and British multinational ICI, the 49% shareholder, had decided not to pay redundancy in accordance with standing union agreements.

People are being offered �3,000 prior to Christmas if they sign a waiver which would deny them the right to sue the Irish Government or ICI in the future for redundancy

Eamonn McDade SIPTU

The workers also discovered that they would not receive their full pension entitlements from the company pension scheme under the liquidation plans.

The Irish Government and ICI instead announced that they would pay a 26.56m euro severance package to the workers in their plants in Belfast, Arklow and Cork.

Eamonn McDade from the union SIPTU said they were "completely stone-walled" by Irish Enterprise Minister Mary Harney and the other employers during Friday's meeting.

And he said the union was very disappointed that no progress had been made.

He said: "The crux of the matter is that the people are being offered �3,000 prior to Christmas out of this pot of 26.56m euros.

"As part of that they have to sign a waiver which would deny them the right to sue the Irish government or ICI in the future for redundancy or anything else."

Ms Harney left the building after the meeting by a back door, avoiding the waiting media.

In the middle of October, the workers were put on a 90-day redundancy notice, but the company said it could only afford to pay them for another few days after the announcement.

The unions advised the workers to keep coming to work despite not being paid so that their employer could not say that they had breached their terms of employment.

Richardson's announced it was to go into liquidation because it could not compete in the current economic climate.