Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today is one of the major shopping days in the year. In Roscommon town there is a Londis store, SuperValu, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and Dunes Stores. Dunnes Stores will be closed. Like the majority of people, I will not pass the picket at any store. However, the one-day strike will put jobs in jeopardy at Dunnes Stores which employs about 10,000 people throughout the State. There should be arbitration in this case. Will the Leader use his good offices to try to bring about some resolution where Ms Margaret Heffernan, the chief executive, and the board of the company of Dunnes Stores, would speak to independent arbitrators who can talk to the trade union, Mandate? Dunnes Stores will not yield to this pressure, as is obvious from previous disputes, and is quite intransigent when it comes to these issues. This issue can be a major blow to employment in the long term unless there is a resolution to it. It is most regrettable that on Holy Thursday, before Good Friday, these stores will be closed. That is a major blow to the company and will have a major effect. It should realise the seriousness of the situation. Some 67% of the workers voted to take strike action and they would not do so unless there was a serious grievance. We should use our position in the Seanad to call for a resolution of this issue. It is very serious and it may lead to the closure of some Dunnes Stores outlets.