Debenhams staff suspended without pay

ELEVEN senior staff at the former Roches Stores outlet in Waterford city have been suspended without pay after unofficial industrial action at the store on Saturday.

The staff, including the shop’s general manager, took the action in protest over longer working hours and ‘enforced’ work changes ordered by the chain’s new owners, Debenhams.

In a statement, Debenhams said the action was unofficial but was not impacting on the running of the store in the City Square shopping centre.

Debenhams continues to run a clearance sale at the shop to mark its switch-over.

The 11 staff will be without pay until tomorrow at the very least when talks with the British-based chain are due to take place.

The move has been criticised by local Workers’ Party councillor and general election candidate John Halligan. He said staff were forced to take unofficial industrial action in protest at Debenhams’ restructuring plans.

“We are talking here about a management team at Roches Stores in Waterford who have done Trojan work for many years at the department store in City Square. These are not mavericks who will have rushed out of work and onto the picket lines,” he said.

“It is to be hoped that the current difficulties and complete communications breakdown can be resolved — possibly by a reasonable redundancy package being agreed for the existing management team — and that Debenhams do not squander the local goodwill in Waterford that is so valuable to retail businesses.”