Mallow Workers Left Without Pay for 7 Months – Says Mandate

The workers claim that Mr Barry is refusing to cooperate with their union Mandate, and also with the State in settling redundancy payments owed to the workers.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said that it “cannot make the redundancy payment due, as the company has not provided the necessary documentary evidence proving they are not in a position to pay the Redundancy directly to the workers.” According to Mandate Trade Union, this would entail a letter from the company accountant stating that they are not in a position to pay.

Caroline Clifford, Mandate’s Industrial Officer for the Mallow area said, “We have written on several occasions to Mr Barry to ask him to clarify the position of the company in order that the workers can claim their redundancy from the Social Insurance Fund. So far Mr Barry has refused to respond to all correspondence and has refused to clarify whether the company is in liquidation or not. This has left the workers in a very difficult position.”

Ms Clifford also said that Mr Barry has failed to pay the workers for their final week of employment while also withholding payments towards the workers pension fund.

“It is estimated that €5,000 in pension deductions has yet to be paid into the pension fund following one of the workers making an enquiry into his own pension. He discovered that pension payments did not appear to have been made from since April 2008 to June 2009.

Billy Barry, a staff member in the store for 14 years said that he is extremely disappointed and frustrated at the actions of Mr Thomas Barry.

“All of us in the company had given loyal service to Mr Barry for several years. One of the workers had 37 years experience working in the store. For Mr Barry to behave in the manner he has, has left us all very disillusioned and disheartened.

“We have quite simply asked him to clarify what the status of the business is and to provide the Department of Enterprise with proof that he cannot afford to pay us the money we are owed. It will then be a matter for the payment to come from the state.”

Ms Clifford concluded by saying, “When Mr Barry went out of business last year, he received a lot of sympathy from the local community, and rightly so. The business had been in operation for more than 60 years and Mr Barry had been a well respected business man and a longstanding member of the Mallow Chamber of Commerce. For such a respected member of the local community to put his own employees through this unnecessary stress is absolutely appalling. We have assured our members that Mandate will continue to pursue this case as long as it takes.