Wallis workers stand up for ‘a shred of decency’ in Limerick

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Mandate members in Wallis in Limerick are currently taking industrial action after the company made some of the workers redundant while tearing up their agreed redundancy package.

The workers have been on strike outside the Cruises St and Childers Rd stores since Monday, 23rd September 2013.

In 2012, Wallis paid the owners of the company €92 million – while this year, the workers have been forced to take a 45% cut to their redundancy entitlements and have been offered no compensation for loss of earnings as a result of transfering to other stores with a resulting loss of hours.

Clare White, a Mandate member with 25 years employment in Wallis said: I have a mortgage, I have children, I pay bills. We just want what is fair. They have torn up the agreement.”

They want to restructure and reschedule us here, and they will not compensate us for loss of earnings,” she said.

She added “I thought I was very loyal, and I thought the company would have been loyal back to me. Within the workers here, we have over 200 years of service.”

Karen Wall, Mandate Divisional Organiser in Limerick said the people of Limerick have been fully supportive – with many choosing not to shop at Wallis while the strike is ongoing.

“These are the ladies who serve them every week, and they support them. But when they see the €92m the company has transferred to the parent company, it says it all: that the workers have been treated absolutely deplorably.

“These workers are standing up for a shred of decency from this company and they’re prepared to continue their action until the company sees sense and comes back to the table,” she concluded.

Mandate members in Wallis say their key concerns include:

• The reduction in the agreed redundancy terms by 45% (5 weeks per year of service to 2.75 per year of service);
• No compensation for workers transferred who will lose hours and therefore income;
• The refusal to accept a legal requirement for transfer of undertakings to apply to the closing store on Grafton Street where the company will sub-lease to the retailer Cath Kidston.

Mandate is urging all trade union members, their families and their friends in the Limerick area to support the Wallis workers by visiting them as they continue their industrial action outside the Cruises Street and Childers Road store.

Ms Wall said, “We would certainly welcome all supporters who wish to express their solidarity with these brave women in Limerick.”