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From The Socialist newspaper, 9 September 2020
Ireland: Debenham's workers occupy stores
Debenham's workers occupy Dublin store September 2020 (Click to enlarge)
Debenham's workers in Ireland occupied the Dublin (above) and Cork stores in protest at the derisory redundancy settlement offered.
The occupation on 8 September marked 150 days of protests and campaigning by the workers, sacked when the company closed all its Irish stores, resulting in 1,000 job losses.
Disgracefully, some of the workers and supporters were arrested in Dublin before pressure forced their release.
The workers' union Mandate negotiated the settlement. Workers were to be balloted, but many say the settlement is not enough.
The shop steward at the Cork store, Valerie Conlon, says: "Four weeks redundancy per year of service is a very modest demand, but the offer that was made fell far short of it. Instead of providing two weeks per year of service on top of the statutory minimum, the offer provides for an extra one day's pay per year of service. That is a real insult."
Debenham's are also closing stores and laying off workers in the UK, and weekly protests by workers have been ongoing in Manchester, with solidarity actions elsewhere.
- For more on the dispute see usdawactivist.wordpress.com for more
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
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In The Socialist 9 September 2020:
Coronavirus news
Fight the schools Covid crisis
Safety overridden in drive to bolster the economy
Caerphilly lockdown puts profits before safety
Campaigns and party news
Jobs, training, pay, we want a future!
Dover: Solidarity with refugees - applause and cheers for socialist ideas to unite working class
BLM: Socialist alternative to racist capitalism
Big push to hit finance target
News
15% now - unions must fight for NHS pay rise
Callous Tories threaten not to uprate the minimum wage
XR blockade: Don't let the Tories criminalise protest
Grenfell fire inquiry stops victims attending
Video game developer attacks Black Lives Matter
What we think
U-turn Tories' splits are growing
Workplace news
Fight Amazon's anti-union spies
NSSN rally: Workers must not pay the price of Covid
Nottingham City Council: The (mis)adventures of Robin Hood Energy
Covid-19 pandemic increases financial pressures on Welsh local government
Ireland: Debenham's workers occupy stores
Unison
A critical election for Unison general secretary
TUSC
Back at work! TUSC to stand in elections again against pro-austerity politicians
International news
Belarus: Mass opposition continues to defy repression by Lukashenko's regime
Strike wave marks new stage in revival of Iranian workers' movement
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