Staff to vote on action over pay cuts as Boots posts huge profits

MORE than 900 Boots staff working in 57 stores around the country are to be balloted for strike action over company plans to introduce cost-saving measures.

According to Mandate trade union, which represents staff, talks on those savings broke down following a disclosure from Boots that the company is extremely profitable.

“As a result Boots has now threatened to terminate all previous negotiated agreements with Mandate. Boots posted €20 million profits for the year to March 2008 in Ireland alone,” a spokesman for the union said.

The spokesman said the company was now attempting to force through pay cuts of 15.5% along with a reduction in terms and conditions of their employees despite still being a highly profitable company with current cash reserves in excess of €70m. It said the cut would result in a wage reduction at the top scale of pay from €14.20 to €12 per hour. Other reductions in the pipeline include 25% reductions in public holiday pay and Sunday premiums. Mandate said it would be balloting its members specifically on the following issues:

* Management’s threat to terminate all existing union/company collective agreements on November 17.

* Management’s intention to impose reduced pay rates and inferior terms and conditions of employment.

* Boots’ refusal to attend the Labour Court for a hearing with Mandate to deal with the issues.

The union’s assistant general secretary Gerry Light said any cuts to workers’ terms and conditions should be considered as a blatantly opportunistic attempt to use the recession to boost shareholder profits.

Boots said it was disappointed at the actions of Mandate.

“Boots Ireland has been in discussions with Mandate over several months concerning adjustments to the future terms and conditions of employees in Ireland,” it said. “These changes are necessary to maintain the future prosperity of the business, whilst still maintaining a highly attractive employment package.”

It said the reductions in pay were not for existing staff, but for new staff coming into the business.

“In the greater interests of all employees in securing the future prosperity of the business and to create a sustainable cost base for future expansion, Boots Ireland decided to introduce the changes, which will take effect in mid-November.”

Meanwhile, the Irish Federation of University Teachers executive meets in emergency session today to decide if it should ballot members for industrial action.

The other three teacher unions – the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland and the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation – are already planning ballots of their members with the outcomes due in mid-November. They are seeking mandates for action up to a series of strikes in protest at education cuts and feared pay cuts across the public service in the December budget.