Dunnes Stores staff to vote for action

More than 4,000 Dunnes Stores staff are to be balloted for industrial action up to strike — over, what their trade union says, is the failure of the company to implement a Labour Court recommendation.

Mandate trade union, which represents the workers who are to be balloted, said the court recommended in November that the retailer sit down with its staff to discuss a number of issues in dispute including:

• The implementation of banded-hour contracts which would give workers security of hours and earnings;
• Individual and collective representational rights for Dunnes workers;
• A review of Dunnes’ excessive use of temporary contracts of employment;
• Fair pay for all workers in Dunnes Stores.

Yesterday a meeting of Mandate’s national shop stewards, representing staff from across the country, voted for a ballot of all members in Dunnes Stores.

The union’s assistant general secretary, Gerry Light, said: “The combination of low pay and flexible hours means many Dunnes workers cannot afford to provide a basic standard of living for themselves and their dependents.

Many of our members cannot access mortgages or loans because of insecurity of hours due to low-hour contracts.

“Dunnes workers want to have their right to trade union representation vindicated, particularly when it comes to disciplinary meetings and grievances and collective bargaining.

Key to all of this is the fact they don’t feel respected by their employer.”

Dunnes Stores had not issued a comment on the proposed action at the time of going to press.

Meanwhile, Unite trade union, which represents more than 200 members at AIB, says it has written to Finance Minister Michael Noonan informing him of, what it describes as, the rapidly deteriorating industrial relations climate at the bank and warning of possible industrial action should AIB fail to engage with the union to resolve a number of issues.

It said chief among those was the bank’s failure to honour a pension agreement concluded in 2009.