Mandate welcomes concession of 3pc pay increase for Dunnes Stores workers

“This pay increase forms only one part of our claim with the company” says Union.

Mandate Trade Union, which represents more than 4,000 workers in Dunnes Stores, has today (Tuesday, 8th July 2014) welcomed an announcement that Dunnes are to implement a 3 percent pay increase back dated to June 2014.

Dunnes Stores employs more than 10,000 workers in the Republic of Ireland in 116 stores.

The pay increase for Dunnes workers forms part of a comprehensive claim by the union as part of its Decency for Dunnes Workers campaign, launched in April 2014. That full claim includes:

• The introduction of banded hour contracts;

• A review of pay scales and pay rates currently in operation in the business;

• A review of temporary contracts that are being over utilised;

• A claim for a 3% pay increase

• The right to representation for Mandate members in Dunnes Stores.

Mandate Assistant General Secretary Gerry Light said, “Obviously this news is very welcome, but the hourly increase only partially addresses the claim which we recently served on the company as part of our campaign.”

Mr Light believes the growing momentum behind the Decency for Dunnes Workers campaign is clearly being recognized by Dunnes Stores management.

“On the day Mandate referred the full claim on behalf of our members to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), the company has decided to concede a 3 percent pay increase. This is obviously not a coincidence,” he said.

He added, “Clearly management at Dunnes have identified the growing momentum which is gathering behind our campaign and have attempted to quell workers’ demands by paying this increase on the basic hourly rate.

“Two other important objectives of the campaign which remain unresolved are the introduction of banded hour contracts, which would provide secure hours and earnings for Dunnes workers, along with an end to the unnecessary use of fixed term temporary contracts,” he said.

Mr Light explained that the 3 percent pay increase can disappear if a worker has their weekly hours reduced at the same time.

“If the company decides to decrease hours for their workers on the back of this pay increase, the workers can actually suffer a loss in take home pay. This is why we are insisting on the introduction of banded hour contracts with secure hours and earnings which is already in existence in Tesco, Penneys, Marks & Spencer and many more of Dunnes Stores’ main competitors.”

He added, “We must also ensure that the increasing numbers of workers employed in Dunnes on temporary contracts do not suffer the ultimate sacrifice by losing their jobs altogether in order to pay for this increase”.

Mr Light concluded by saying, “Mandate and our steadily increasing membership base in Dunnes are committed and absolutely determined to deliver on the issues identified in our Decency for Dunnes Workers campaign.

“In order to achieve this we are calling yet again for Dunnes management to either directly engage with the union or attend at The Labour Relations Commission so that we can agree employment conditions which are now common place in most of their major competitors in the Irish retail sector”.

NOTE

For more information on this campaign please go to www.dunnesworkers.com