Former Clerys workers and their supporters held a protest outside the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in Kildare Street, Dublin, today (Tuesday, 24th November). The lunchtime protest highlighted a demand by the Clerys workers that the Government enact legislation to ensure that a functioning company cannot be liquidated without notice being provided to its employees or any plans made to pay outstanding wages and redundancy entitlements. SIPTU Organiser, Robert Purfield, said: “It is more than 23 weeks since Clerys was bought by a consortium of property speculators, Natrium, on 12th June. Within hours nearly 400 Clerys workers, including over 130 members of SIPTU, had lost their jobs without notice or any plans being made for the payment of their outstanding wages or redundancy entitlements.” He added: “The Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, has been presented with the legislative changes necessary to ensure that what happened to the Clerys workers never happens again. We are calling on the Minister to implement these changes to ensure the State and workers are never again left carrying the can for the activities of vulture capitalists.” SIPTU activist and former Clerys worker, Susie McGowan, said: “The cost of our redundancy payments had to be eventually met by the State even though the companies involved in what happened to Clerys will make multi-million euro profits out of the deal. “We are calling upon the Minister to adopt a law proposed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions that would ensure that such a situation could not happen again.” The Clerys workers and their supporters will hold a protest outside the former department store on O’Connell Street, Dublin, on Thursday, 26th November, from 1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. This protest is focused on the workers demand that businesswoman, Deirdre Foley, and her fellow Natrium directors meet them face to face to discuss what happened to the iconic store.
Clerys workers protest outside Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
