Sir, – Fintan O'Toole's piece ("Dunnes policy an assault on dignity of working people", Opinion & Analysis, April 7th) on the dispute between the Mandate trade union and Dunnes Stores lacks balance and objectivity. Mr O'Toole refers to "the culture of the zero-hour contract"; this in itself is a misnomer as, in Ireland, legislation (the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997) specifically prevents such contracts. Dunnes Stores appears to be abiding by the legislation in providing contracts which guarantee a minimum of 15 hours. This flexibility appears to suit a large number of retail workers, and provides the employer with the ability to roster employees during periods of peak consumer demand. Many workers on such contracts are working in excess of the minimum 15 hours.
Mr O’Toole points out that employers in the US, such as Target, Wal-Mart, and McDonalds, have been increasing basic wages. He fails to acknowledge that Dunnes Stores awarded their almost 15,000 employees a 3 per cent pay increase in June 2014. Dunnes Stores has been in existence for over 70 years, employs almost 15,000 people, has financially backed Irish designers, and continued to invest in Ireland at a time when other international retailers were using mechanisms in Ireland to extricate themselves from financial, and leasehold, obligations that a few years earlier they had more than willingly entered into.
This dispute appears to have more to do with the issue of union recognition and less to do with the rights of the workers. A more balanced debate is called for. – Yours, etc,
MARK DELANEY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – I find myself in total agreement with Laura Slattery when she describes the almost serf-like existence of workers on zero and low-hour contracts ("Workers dangle in limbo on contracts for low or zero hours", Opinion & Analysis, April 8th).
In a recent address entitled “The Future of Work”, President Michael D Higgins said, “Responding to the needs, the fears and the aspirations of those citizens among us who do not enjoy security of employment is a defining challenge of our times.”
Nowhere is this ideal more applicable than to the Dunnes Store workers who last week were forced to take industrial action in order to secure decent working conditions and the ability to earn a decent living. What the Dunnes workers are asking for is very reasonable, the right to trade union representation, an ending of the ultra-exploitative practice of low-hour contracts and the gaining of some level of job security by being rostered in such a manner that they are guaranteed a minimum and maximum number of working hours, and income, per week.
Zero and low-hour contracts are nothing more than a cynical use of the recession to further undermine working conditions and wages. Workers on these contracts are not guaranteed employment from one week to the next, have no guaranteed weekly hours or weekly income and are unable to take on other work as they have to be on constant call from employers.
Workers on low-hour contracts are unable to get mortgages, plan family life and many have worries about putting food on the table. Employers can use these contracts to keep staff in a permanent state of insecurity, cut wages and avoid paying pensions and holiday pay.
A recent survey of Dunnes workers carried out by the Mandate trade union found that 85 per cent felt that insecurity around hours and rostering is used as a method of control over workers, while 88 per cent felt that hours are distributed unfairly and as a way of disciplining staff.
The Dunnes management position contrasts greatly with those adopted by other large retail outlets, such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Arnotts, where “banded hours”, which guarantee a fair number of working hours each week, are now the norm.
In a previous generation, a group of Dunnes employees went on strike for three years on a point of principle that is now universally accepted. Let us hope that this generation of Dunnes workers do not have to wait as long for their justice. – Is mise,
KEVIN P McCARTHY,
Killarney, Co Kerry.