Tánaiste criticises treatment of Clerys workers

Tánaiste Joan Burton has described as “absolutely despicable” the treatment of workers at Clerys department store in Dublin who lost their jobs in Friday’s closure.

Ms Burton said the sudden closure, giving the 460 employees as little as 30 minutes notice in some cases, was “probably one of the worst examples of capitalism at its worst”.

She was speaking in Kilkenny before presenting the Labour Party’s Jim Kemmy Thirst for Justice Award to striking Dunnes Stores workers who are locked in dispute with company owners over low-hours contracts and collective negotiation.