Seanad debates

Tuesday, 17 November 2020

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:30 am

Photo of Frances BlackFrances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise an issue which I have previously brought to the attention of the House. It is a very important matter. It is essential that we discuss the plight of the Debenhams workers and their appalling treatment by the company in their redundancy dispute. The Irish branch of Debenhams, which operated 11 stores, was put into liquidation on 9 April. The stores' closures came once the UK parent company entered administration and ended its financial support to the Irish business. I have been in contact with a number of workers who have picketed for over 200 days and many of these workers have been picketing 24 hours a day, seven days a week for more than half a year. Some 1,000 staff and a further 1,000 working in concessions have lost their jobs.

What has driven the former Debenhams workers to commit to one of the longest pickets in Irish history? They are seeking redundancy terms of two weeks' per year of service and statutory entitlements of two weeks' per year of service. The workers have claimed this agreement would be to match the negotiations between the retailer and the unions carried out in 2016. The workers' trade union, Mandate, has attempted to reach an agreement with the liquidator, KPMG, that would have the workers share a €1 million allocation as well as statutory entitlements realised from the sale of stock. However, this has since been withdrawn. Shop stewards said they would not accept it as a 2016 agreement was much higher. Ninety per cent of these workers are female and many of the voices I heard from are in their third decade of working for Debenhams. They have given so much to the franchise and now feel utterly forgotten. Many of these women are grandmothers who said that they enjoyed their work thoroughly. They have now been picketing for over half a year in harsh weather conditions and they will continue to do so. They have made it clear they will not stop until they are honoured with a better offer. They feel this is about loyalty. We need to listen to their voices and see some definite action for these workers. It is essential we discuss this issue in order to come to a satisfactory resolution to this dispute. It is simply not good enough. These workers deserve so much better than this.

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