Striking staff ask public to boycott Argos

Workers at retail giant Argos have called for the public to boycott stores tomorrow in support of their one-day strike.

Staff are to walk out of up to 31 outlets throughout the country in a row over wages and the company's refusal to increase pay by 10%.

Mandate, which is representing workers, has asked people to stay away from the affected shops.

Argos said its stores will remain open despite the planned picket, adding pay rates at the company were extremely competitive.

Linda Tanham, Mandate's assistant general secretary, said: "We're conscious of the fact that this action may cause inconvenience to the public and that's why we've confined the action to one day.

"We're aware of the support the public has given Mandate in the past, especially towards low paid workers.

"We hope the public realise that the wages paid in Argos are not a realistic living wage and support the one day of action," she said.

Argos employs 1,200 people in Ireland and Mandate says it represents approximately 50% of the retail staff in the company.

The union has been pushing for better wages claiming workers are paid on a six point wage scale which starts off at €9.07 an hour and asked for a 10% rise.

The dispute has been to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and the Labour Court which recommended payment of Towards 2016 increases worth 2.5% from November.

In December 2000, Argos and Mandate agreed future wage increases would be subject to annual negotiations and not social partnership.

Talks were held between both sides on Wednesday at the National Implementation Body (NIB) in a bid to resolve the dispute, which ended without agreement.

An NIB spokesman said: "The body urges both parties to engage in urgent discussions, facilitated by the Labour Relations Commission to complete the process recommended by the Court, to avert industrial action."

Argos has more than 680 stores throughout the UK and Ireland and in the last financial year its sales topped £3.8bn (€5.3bn) sterling.

The company said it was paying fair and competitive rates of pay.

"Over the past 18 months we have been reviewing our pay rates in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland and we are clear that our current rates of pay are extremely competitive.

"Despite the proposed industrial action by Mandate members, we would like to reassure our customers that our stores will remain open for business as usual this weekend," she said.