Decency for Dunnes Workers

It has been confirmed that Seanad Eireann will debate the Employment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2017 on Tuesday, 20th November 2018.

The Bill, which would tackle precarious work and insecure working conditions, must be supported by all Senators, according to Mandate Trade Union.

In a letter sent to all TD’s and Senators today (Tuesday, 13th November), John Douglas said:

I am writing to you on behalf of Mandate’s 40,000 members working in bars and retail in every constituency in Ireland. I also speak for hundreds of thousands of low paid and precarious workers in dozens of other sectors when I say that it is imperative that this legislation is not delayed any further and that it progresses and becomes an Act as quickly as possible. Every single day that the legislation it is not implemented, there are dozens of precarious workers who are being ruthlessly exploited by their employer.

Mr Douglas added, “This piece of legislation is the single most important piece of legislation for vulnerable workers in decades. I would hope that you and your political party/grouping will support our members and support decent work in Ireland.”

In his correspondence to TD’s and Senators, Mr Douglas included an information document which illustrated how the Bill could provide decent work for hundreds of thousands of precarious workers.

“Martina is a member of Mandate Trade Union and she works for a major multinational retail outlet. She’s been working between 40-48 hours per week for 7 years. Recently Martina complained to her local manager about a stack of pallets blocking the fire exit of her store. Her manager took action. Except, her manager didn’t resolve the obstruction to the fire escape. Instead, she cut Martina’s hours to the minimum number in her contract, which is 10, as a penalty, and told her she could have her 48 hours back in six months. There is absolutely nothing illegal in this.

This reduction in hours amounted to an 80% cut in income for Martina and she had to go to her local Credit Union to make up for her lost hours and income (her contract forbids her from obtaining work elsewhere). This has made Martina a very compliant worker. Since this incident, Martina has never raised a grievance.

This is not a fictional scenario. This happened, and it is not unusual.”

The document goes on to link the healthcare and housing crisis with precarious work and calls on all political parties to support the legislation and Mandate’s suggested amendments.

The full document is available to read here – Seanad-Employment Misc Prov Bill 2017.

Alternatively, you can read a mobile friendly version here.