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Former Debenhams workers claimed this morning to have occupied the retailer’s stores at St Patrick’s Steet in Cork and Henry Street in Dublin as part of a protest over a fair 4-week-per-year-of-service severance pay agreement.
Former employees have called a conciliation offer made last week an “insult” and have expressed their “extreme disappointment” that Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Enterprise Minister Leo Varadkar have not presented workers with a fair offer. .
They want four weeks’ pay per year of service, which St Patrick’s Steward Valerie Conlon described as a “modest demand.”
“The offer that was made last week was not enough. Instead of providing two weeks per year of service in addition to the legal minimum, the offer provides for an additional day of pay per year of service. That is a real insult.”
Former workers say that at 6:30 a.m., eight protesters, including two former employees in Tralee, gained access to the building on St Patrick’s Street without setting off the alarm.
Ms. Conlon said: “We plan to stay here until Thursday afternoon. It’s time for KPMG to take us seriously, we will not be ignored.”
Debenhams workers have been picketing for more than 150 days. Carol Ann Bridgeman, a Mahon Point employee, said they need public support.
“Our fight is a fight of all workers and we call on the public to support us,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, shop steward Jane Crowe said: “To say that we are disappointed in Micheál Martin is an understatement.”
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