Debenhams workers urge public to boycott shop's online store 

Some of the ex-Debenhams staff with supporters in Cork on the 222nd day of their ongoing strike following the closure of the Debenhams stores. Picture: Denis Minihane

Former Debenhams staff want people to boycott the department store's websites when they are buying presents this year.

They maintain the merchandise could easily fund their demand for four weeks of redundancy payments.

The workers have been locked in a dispute with the store's liquidator KPMG over redundancy terms. 

Jane Crowe, shop steward at the Henry Street branch in Dublin, said they need the public's help in their campaign.

She said the store's website is still operating with an Irish address, even after the liquidation of the shop's Irish operations.

"So they still advertise as '.ie' which people think the money is coming to the Irish stores but it's not. So we are asking everyone to boycott buying from Debenhams online, whether it is '.ie' or '.com'. 

"Ireland is going through an awful lot at the moment with the pandemic. Shop Irish, keep the shops that are physically open in the country, keep those jobs going in Ireland and shop within Ireland," said Ms Crowe. 

The shop steward said any delivery workers who handle the packages of merchandise will be effectively crossing their picket line.

"We're calling on people, it's UPS that does the deliveries, sometimes they arrive out to people's houses in taxis actually. 

"So we would be calling on anybody delivering those packages to please not deliver them. 

"They know it's from Debenhams, the packaging is branded from Debenhams, so we would be asking them not to put their hands on it. 

"That in itself would be crossing our picket," said Ms Crowe. 

Valerie Conlon, shop steward at the Patrick Street branch in Cork, believes a solution can only be found to the dispute with government intervention. She has called on the Taoiseach Micheál Martin to act. 

"I am calling on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to intervene in our dispute now. He has condemned Debenhams and said we were treated shabbily. He has promised to meet Mandate. 

"We need him to act now. We believe a decent settlement can be reached but only if brokered by the government," she said.

The workers will rally at the Dáil this lunchtime following their 222nd night on the picket lines blocking the removal of stock from the closed stores across the country.

A Facebook event publicising the event has reminded people in attendance to social distance due to Covid-19.