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From The Socialist newspaper, 16 September 2020
Ireland: Debenham's occupier speaks out
Debenham's workers occupy Dublin store September 2020 (Click to enlarge)
Seán Powney, Debenhams worker
Three Debenham's strikers, shop steward, Jane Crowe, Doreen Keegan, and myself, were arrested along with members of Militant Left (CWI Ireland) and other left organisations in Dublin on 8 September, following an occupation of the Debenham's flagship store.
We were arrested, held in individual cells, and then released. Our union, Mandate, expressed its sympathy and understanding for the action, which is welcome. Other strikers gathered outside the Garda (police) station until we were released. We then held a rally and marched to the Dáil (Irish parliament building) to demand justice for Debenham's workers.
The occupations are the latest step in a struggle that has been going on for over 150 days. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland, while most shops on the high street closed, Debenham's stores around the country remained open.
We continued to work with little or no PPE and in unsafe conditions until the store finally shut for what we were promised would be a short time. A few weeks later, I and 954 of my colleagues received an email to say we no longer had a job and that Debenham's would be leaving Ireland...
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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.
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In The Socialist 16 September 2020:
Socialist Party news and analysis
Our lives and livelihoods at stake
Sketch: The rule of six - some guidance from your government
Johnson's brinkmanship over EU deal deepens capitalist splits
Blame politicians, not workers and young people
Capitalist profit and the race to develop a vaccine
'Covid marshalls' must be accountable to communities
NHS
Angry health workers demand 15% now!
NHS workers: "We deserve a fair wage" - 15% now!
Workplace news and analysis
National Shop Stewards Network lobbying for a lead from the TUC
PCS members in DWP reject unsafe extension of hours
Ireland: Debenham's occupier speaks out
London bus drivers begin strike ballot over remote sign-on dispute
Tate workers on indefinite strike hold march and rally
Schools
Dispatches from the front: schools need Covid tests!
Public services
Covid and the third sector: for public planning, not charity stopgaps
Labour Party
Non-fiction: Left Out - the inside story of Labour under Corbyn
International socialist news and analysis
Egypt: Support for al-Sisi dwindles as his regime increases repression
Nigerian police repress peaceful anti-government protest
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Two weeks to donate: we need your help
Coventry: scrap 'profit before people' hospital parking charges
Covid generation says 'fund our future'
Why I joined the Socialist Party: Tories and Blairites only care about corporate greed
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