Dunnes strike on Holy Thursday will hit drink sales

About 5,000 staff at Dunnes Stores who are members of the Mandate trade union are to stage a one-day strike on Thursday, April 2nd next.

The planned stoppage on Holy Thursday will affect 107 Dunnes Stores outlets across the country where the union has members.

The stoppage will hit sales of alcohol on the day before Good Friday, when drink sales across the State are banned.

The stoppage relates to a dispute over pay, contracts and an alleged refusal by the company to negotiate with the union on grievances under the terms of an agreement reached in 1996 .

Last week, Mandate said 67 per cent of its members at the company voted in favour of industrial action.

Last month, Dunnes Stores management warned of possible layoffs and redundancies if “harm” was inflicted on the company as a result of industrial action.

Mandate assistant general secretary Gerry Light said on Tuesday the warning issued by the company to staff in February represented "a clear attempt to scare them away from this action".

However he said “this was not going to happen”.

“We anticipate the dispute will be fully supported by our current workers, by non members of the union and the general public.”

Mr Light maintained that the dispute would be reviewed by the union after April 2nd and could escalate.

However he said the planned stoppage was “entirely avoidable”.

“ Dunnes management have three weeks to engage with the union to deal with all the issues that they know are of concern to our members. They have known this for the last 18 months .”

He said the company and the union could sit down and discuss the issues and even if a resolution could not be found, Mandate would agree to take the matters to the Labour Court.

Mr Light said a formal framework which was in place since 1996 committed the company to sit down and deal with grievances whether they arose locally or nationally.

“An agreement is there that allows for engagement. Dunnes Stores are just choosing to ignore their obligations .”

Mandate said last week its members in Dunnes were seeking the implementation of “banded hour” contracts which would give workers security of hours and earnings, fair levels of pay, a review of “excessive use” of temporary contracts of employment and individual and collective representation rights in the company.

Under a system of banded hours, employees are guaranteed that their weekly working hours for the company will not fall below those in a specific “band” of hours that applies to them.

Mandate has maintained that management at Dunnes Stores has refused to abide by the terms of a collective agreement which the company freely signed up to in 1996.

The Labour Court in November found the union and Dunnes Stores had reached a collective agreement for the resolution of disputes.

“The court takes the view that where the parties have freely concluded such an agreement, they should each comply with its terms in the management of their relationships.”

The court urged the company and the union to meet to resolve their differences.

However, in a letter to staff last month, Dunnes said it would not enter into direct discussions with a trade union and would avail of all of its legal entitlements in that regard.

"Dunnes Stores, similar to many substantial companies that operate in Ireland and internationally, do not engage directly with trade unions. We live in a country that has a Constitution that recognises the right of association that is to become a member of a trade union, which Dunnes Stores wholeheartedly endorses.

“This right is one that the company acknowledges is every employee’s right, but in as much as the Constitution recognises that right; it also recognises that there is a right effectively of disassociation, namely that an employer is not obliged to nor must it talk or engage directly with trade unions.”

Dunnes Stores said that, at a time when the retail industry was fighting for survival, staff in the company had received two pay increases while it had also maintained employment levels.

“When each of you joined Dunnes Stores, you did so upon the terms of contract of employment that was offered.”

Dunnes Stores maintained that Mandate had, in communication with staff, sought to generate concern and fear in relation to issues that did not exist and which fundamentally were not capable of giving rise to a dispute under industrial relations legislation.

The company said the union’s real objective was to secure rights to represent Dunnes workers at store and national level.