Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Barry for bringing the Bill forward. It is most important and timely. I acknowledge and pay respect to the former workers of Debenhams who, for 400 days, have demonstrated immense dignity, respect and determination. It is a testament to who they are as people in contrast to the indifference shown to them by the State.

We have spoken about the Debenhams workers many times in the Dáil and then failed to act. In July 2020, which was nearly 100 days into the strike, most of us here spoke on this same issue, thanks to a motion introduced by Deputies Barry, Boyd Barrett and Gino Kenny. Even then, 100 days was too long for those workers to be standing on a picket line. I remember that 100 days was a symbolic date at the time. Women, men and younger workers from Debenhams had been picketing for 100 days. We all said that was simply too long and that the Government needed to act. The Government told us the workers needed to wait, we did not understand, the issue was complex, something was coming down the line, we were being naive and somehow, by virtue of its own arrogance, the Government was correct. Now, 400 days along the line, things have changed but for the worse for the workers on the picket lines.

This discussion of the Companies (Protection of Employees’ Rights in Liquidations) Bill 2021, introduced by Deputy Barry, marks nearly 400 days of strike action by the Debenhams workers. During the pandemic, we were told we are all in this together. There were high levels of solidarity, pandemic unemployment payments were introduced which were commensurate with people's dignity and sense of togetherness. We invested in public services. It really did seem that we were all in this together. In July 2020, the tactical liquidation forced on the Debenhams workers proved that to be untrue. With each passing day of indifference since then, the workers had to stand on picket lines up to the point they were forcibly removed. The Government's continuing indifference has demonstrated that we were not all in this together, some of us were viewed as lesser and the plight of some workers was considered less significant. The facade of solidarity and goodwill has fallen.

Earlier this week, the Garda mobilised in greater numbers than the number of workers on the picket line in Waterford. Gardaí used physical force and intimidation against these workers. Let us remember who these workers are. They are, in the main, women. Many are older and have devoted years of their working lives to Debenhams and, previously, Roches Stores. I have heard it said, including in the context of the debate after 100 days of pickets, that Debenhams is an institution and this is one of the reasons so much public attention had been placed on the plight of these workers. I rejected that fully then and will now. Debenhams was never an institution. Nobody particularly cares about the company but people do care about the values the workers represented and the smiles with which they greeted customers. The values and virtues of those working class people, who went in to work every day, contributed their labour, valued their work and provided a service, are what made that building an institution. It is they who have been left behind while the Debenhams shareholders were placed forward.

Weeks ago, in my constituency of Dublin Central, the Garda acted in much the same way as it did in Waterford last week. The footage and images from outside Debenhams on Henry Street and Parnell Street are very difficult to watch but I believe it is a truer reflection of how the State feels when it comes to workers' rights than any of the promises and words made by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. My mind wandered to what was happening in the operation rooms where senior members in An Garda Síochána were giving orders to younger, less senior members of the Garda who are often underpaid and overworked and conveying them that they must remove other workers. That is a sad reflection of the State. These are images we should not have to see. Workers who are underpaid should not have to remove the one tactical advantage that workers on strikes and picket lines have when trying to stop stock from being removed. It was the only card the Debenhams workers had to play. This is a sad reflection of what ten years of Fine Gael ideology has done to this country.

The Government wants us to believe the narrative that there is only so much it can do and its hands are tied. In truth, it has chosen to treat these workers, and many like them before, in this way. Government after Government has made the choice not to protect workers. A choice is made when the Government fails to implement recommendations from the Duffy Cahill report. It is a choice when the Tánaiste says he cannot ban KPMG from removing stock. It was a choice not to change the law after the Vita Cortex, Clerys and Thomas Cook closures and it will be a choice if we fail to do anything after this. It was a choice to allow workers to stand on a picket line for 400 days until it was convenient to remove them forcibly. It is a choice when the Government uses indifference over action. We were not elected to be bystanders or to turn a blind eye. We have done more to protect the stock in Debenhams stores than we have done to protect the Debenhams workers. More value has been placed on stock than on workers.

The ESRI publication on minimum wage policy last year stated that data from 2017 to 2019 showed that 8% of all employees in Ireland were on the minimum wage.

When looked at by sector, 20% of all employees in retail were in receipt of the minimum wage. These are the same retail workers who have been absolutely invaluable since the start of the pandemic. Many of us already recognise them as essential workers. Their contribution meant they were the ones who remained at work and became another front line when everyone else had to stay at home. How many of the liquidators who are forcing these closures, removing stock and somehow backchanneling with the State in order to forcibly remove workers from picket lines are also on minimum wage? Very few.

It is completely transparent whose interest the Government chooses to protect and prioritise. This Bill seeks to put workers at the centre rather than the back of queue when it comes to payments from a liquidator by transforming unpaid collective redundancy agreements into unpaid debts in the eyes of liquidation law. While the Bill is inspired by the resilience and force of the Debenhams workers, to whom I pay tribute and with whom I will stand later today outside the gates of Leinster House, we need to remember this is for all workers, past and future. Every political party across the left has stated that this will not be the last time we will be in the House talking about tactical insolvencies.

Debenhams workers are fighting on behalf of their children and grandchildren in order to protect them. They have put the issue of workers' rights back on the agenda. How the Government chooses to act will not be forgotten by Debenhams workers and the many workers like them. It is now very clear there is a line in Irish politics. It is between those political parties which have chosen to watch all those workers from Debenhams, Vita Cortex and Clerys who have been left behind by the State, that is, the parties which have acquiesced, done nothing and left the Duffy Cahill report on the shelf for six years, and those other parties which have made the choice to want and be willing to act. That is the choice the same old politics has to reckon with. If political parties do not act that is fine, but they will be replaced. That is the challenge for those of us bringing forth, proposing and supporting this legislation. It is to act now or be replaced because the line is becoming very clear.

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