Nine out of 10 shop workers 'leave after one year'

90% of workers in the retail and bar trades leave their jobs within a year because of poor working conditions, according to the trade union MANDATE.

At the union’s national conference in Tralee, Co Kerry members heard how many employees were being discouraged from pursuing a career in the sector because the conditions and pay made it unattractive.

Instead, the union believes that people are using their jobs as a stepping stone while waiting to get a permanent, pensionable job in another sector.

The General Secretary of the union, Owen Nulty says that employers must provide a better working environment.