4Home Superstores Staff Postpone Industrial Action

Workers in 4Home Superstores in Cork, who announced they were taking industrial action tomorrow, Wednesday, 2 September 2009, are postponing the action following a request from the Labour Court.

Mandate Trade Union say they, along with SIPTU, have agreed to attend a hearing in the Labour Court with the company and as a result the industrial action will be temporarily postponed pending the outcome of the hearing.

Dan O’Malley, Divisional Organiser for Mandate said, “We have agreed to attend a hearing in the Labour Court and as such, we have postponed the industrial action scheduled for tomorrow.

“We would hasten to add that this is only a postponement of the action whereby we are agreeing to attend the Labour Court in good faith with the company. We hope that since the company has decided to avail of the state mechanisms for resolving disputes that they are prepared to enter the process with a view to negotiating with us,” said Mr O’Malley.

Mandate has called for Dairygold to intervene in the dispute as they are a major shareholder in Reox Holdings and are about to have the 4Home Stores transferred back into their business in the coming weeks.

“We have members working for 4Home Stores but who were Dairygold employees for over thirty years when the stores were transferred to Reox Holdings in 2006. These workers still feel as though they are Dairygold employees and as such they are entitled to an agreed redundancy package of just over six weeks pay per year of service as previously agreed with Mandate,” said Mr O’Malley.

“There is a human side to this too. Some of these workers, who I might add have given loyal service for up to 39 years in the company, both as 4Home Stores and Dairygold employees, have families and bills to pay in these difficult time. They are only too aware that it will be difficult to find employment in the current market,” concluded Mr O’Malley.

Workers in 4Home Superstores were informed of their compulsory redundancy, which includes only statutory redundancy of two weeks pay per year of service, on Wednesday, 12 August 2009. The workers held a three day sit-in protest in the stores following the announcement. Mandate claimed that despite agreements already being in place to do so, the company failed to discuss the redundancies with the union.