The President of the Workers’ Party, Michael Donnelly, has expressed strong support for the campaign launched by the Mandate trade union today (Friday) for decent pay and conditions of employment for workers employed by Dunnes Stores.
Mr. Donnelly said that Mandate were raising an important and timely issue which affects thousands of workers in this country today and not only those employed at Dunnes but right across the retail and services sector.
He said that companies such as Dunnes had significantly eroded the working conditions of retail workers over the last decade, particularly with the introduction of zero-hour contracts which Mr. Donnelly described as a denial of fundamental rights.
“Dunnes Stores is one of the most profitable companies in Ireland and has seen its profits soar over the last number of years despite the crisis in capitalism. It is grossly unfair that the company consistently ignores the pleas of its employees and their trade union representatives to provide workers with more secure contracts, better pay and conditions of employment”, said Mr. Donnelly.
The Workers’ Party President said that the information revealed in a new survey commissioned on the workers’ behalf by Mandate make a disturbing picture. “It is completely unacceptable that loyal and hardworking employees do not know from one week to the next how many hours they will work or how much pay they will take home. This prevents them from making the most basic of plans. The Dunnes industrial relations model belongs in the distant past yet they continue to impose such conditions on workers. At least Ebenezer Scrooge eventually changed his ways. Dunnes Stores are stuck in a time warp of intransigence”, Michael Donnelly said.
For more information on the Mandate campaign for decency for Dunnes Stores workers visit their website at Dunnesworkers.com