Over 5000 staff at Dunnes Stores are voting on whether to go on strike over pay and conditions at the company.

Their trade union Mandate says Dunnes has refused to implement a recommendation by the Labour Court to meet with the union.

The Labour Court Recommendation instructed the company to sit down with the Union to discuss the issues at the heart of the dispute, including: The implementation of banded hour contracts which would give workers security of hours and earnings; individual and collective representational rights for Dunnes workers; a review of Dunnes’ excessive use of temporary contracts of employment and fair pay for all workers in Dunnes Stores.

However, in a letter circulated to 14,000 staff last week, Dunnes says it has no obligation to recognise trade unions.
The letter also says any harm caused to the company "can only cause redundancies and layoffs."

Muireann Dalton, a Dunnes worker in Newtownmountkennedy, said, in a statement issued by Mandate Trade Union: “Nobody wants to go on strike and we can hardly afford to miss a day’s pay, but at some stage we have to say enough is enough and stand up for ourselves.

“Thousands of Dunnes workers like me have no idea how many hours we’ll get from week to week. We can’t get a mortgage or a loan because of this insecurity of hours. All we’re asking is for contracts that are already given to workers in Dunnes' main competitor including Tesco and Penneys.”

Assistant General Secretary of Mandate Gerry Light says the workers demands are simple and that the workers want “a guarantee of decent weekly earnings. There are also issues surrounding rates of pay in the company and the excessive use of temporary contracts.

Mr Light says the workers have been left with no alternative but to vote on taking industrial action.

“Our members in Dunnes Stores have been put in a very difficult position by management who are refusing to abide by their own collective agreement which they freely signed up to in 1996,” Mr Light said.

“Dunnes workers have been patient and have given their employer every opportunity to resolve their issues of concern, but unfortunately Dunnes management continue their stubborn refusal to engage and are now ignoring the impartial Labour Court, who have issued a Recommendation stating that they should engage with their workers’ representatives.

“Unfortunately the only recourse left available to Dunnes workers at this stage is to ballot for industrial action.”
Mr Light said Dunnes workers want the same treatment afforded to workers with Dunnes’ main competitors, whose workers “are treated with dignity and respect” and “are allowed representation rights by their trade union.”