'This fight is bigger than us and our family'

Carol Bridgeman being hugged by her daughter Charlotte. Carol  worked at the Mahon Point store and took part in the sit-in protest. She missed Charlotte’s first day at school yesterday.

"They can bail out the banks in 24 hours so they can bail out Debenhams workers now," said protest leader Valerie Conlon to screams of support after she left a three-day sit-in at the Patrick St store in Cork.

Valerie and her former colleagues have been protesting their treatment by Debenhams which has not paid a previously agreed redundancy package of two weeks' pay per year of service on top of their two weeks' statutory entitlement.