Mandate Trade Union congratulate Paris Bakery workers

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Workers’ fight for change in legislation continues

Mandate General Secretary John Douglas has expressed his congratulations to the workers in the Paris Bakery after they won their hard fought battle to have their company wound-up.

The workers had been 19 days occupying their former workplace on Moore Street, Dublin after their owner shut the bakery leaving the workers with almost €100,000 in unpaid wages and other entitlements.

Mr Douglas said, “These workers deserve enormous credit for the way they stuck together and for the resilience they have shown. It is difficult enough to lose your job, but to lose it while not being paid for almost three months is devastating.”

Mr Douglas added that these workers were put in a very challenging situation unnecessarily.

“For several years, Mandate Trade Union has highlighted to government the flaws in the insolvency legislation whereby employers can simply walk away from a business, hiding behind Limited Liability and refusing to wind their company up. Workers are left having to occupy buildings simply get what is rightfully theirs.”

He said, “We said it on day one of this sit-in: no worker should be forced to occupy a building to get their wages.”

Mr Douglas explained that the Paris Bakery workers were lucky that the Revenue Commissioners were also owed money in this instance.

“Today the Paris Bakery workers received a letter from Revenue indicating their intention to wind the company up in the High Court. This will allow the workers to access the State’s Insolvency Fund at last.

“Had Revenue not intervened, these workers may have been forced to take a case to the High Court themselves, at a prohibitive cost and possibly taking several years, in order to win what was rightfully theirs.

Mr Douglas explained that four Mandate Trade Union members in Dun Laoghaire have been fighting for their entitlements for almost four years after their employer continues to refuse to wind the company up owing his employees more than €100,000.

“This situation of employers leaving workers high and dry is not new. We’ve seen it happen in recent years in Vita Cortex, La Senza, HMV, Game and in Connolly Shoes. In all of these cases, workers could have been protected but weren’t due to lack of political will,” said Mr Douglas.

He added, “Now that the Paris Bakery workers have won their fight, we cannot allow this to happen again. We must keep the pressure on government to change the legislation so that we’re not talking about another sit-in taking place in two or three months time.”

Mr Douglas congratulated the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland for their hard work and dedication in this case. He also thanked the OPATSI union for their support along with all the other trade unions and individuals who kept the workers spirits up during the prolonged dispute.

Mr Douglas concluded by emphasizing the need for all workers to be members of trade unions.

“Unions are about standing together and working as a collective for the betterment of all. The Paris Bakery workers have won their fight be being strong and working together. There will always be rogue employers who will exploit their workforce and when that happens the best protection you can have is by being united with your colleagues in your workplace. It’s an old phrase and a cliché but it is still relevant to say that unity is strength.”

(Pic Via MRCI)