Updated 11.30

Hundreds of workers are on strike at the Cadbury's plant in Coolock in Dublin over the outsourcing of jobs.

SIPTU and UNITE say they are taking the action in a row over the company's plans to outsource 17 jobs at the facility.

Mondelez International, the company that owns Cadbury's, says the plans are aimed at strengthening the firm to secure its future and affected staff have been accommodated elsewhere. The company says affected staff will be put to work in other roles at the factory, and they will be given a 4% pay rise.

It is production staff who are engaged in the industrial action.

Staff say that while the numbers affected in this move are small, they fear future moves to outsource more jobs. Mondelez says it currently has no future plans for outsourcing.

Senior shop steward for SIPTU at Cadbury's Tony Byrne says union representatives are willing to meet with management at the company to resolve the dispute:

"We're going through pay talks for the last year and a half and the company want to outsource 17 jobs at the moment.

We are available for talks at any time.

It is an all-out strike, unless something changes."

Mondelez says that the plans are a result of a Labour Court reccomendation which SIPTU and UNITE have rejected. 

According to the company they're aimed at securing the future of the company in Ireland.

They say it costs twice as much to produce chocolate in Ireland as in other countries, so they have to find ways to make the plants more efficient.