Decency for Dunnes Workers

Mandate Trade Union has lodged a pay claim for 2019 with Dunnes Stores seeking: a fair pay increase for all workers in the company; new equal pay scale which would enable all workers to achieve the top point; more full time jobs; fairer scheduling and most importantly, a right to trade union representation for individual and collective purposes.

Dunnes Stores are notoriously anti-trade union so it is unlikely that the claim will be achieved in full without an intensive campaign which is supported by all Dunnes workers across the country.

Through Shopfloor, Mandate is launching an endorsement facility where Dunnes workers can express their support for the campaign. This can be accessed at (www.tinyurl.com/dunnes2019).

Is this claim achievable?

Mandate has lodged a similar claim with Tesco Ireland. Pay equality has proven to be a major issue for many Dunnes members and with the new Living Wage declared at €12.30ph, this is the starting point for the proposed pay scale with rewards for long service. These conditions of employment are the minimum a worker should expect when working for a highly profitable retail employer in Ireland.

Dunnes Stores do not publish their profits in Ireland. However, from extrapolating data from Eurostat and the CSO we can estimate that Dunnes are generating more than €200 million in profit every year. If Dunnes workers were to successfully achieve this claim it would mean Dunnes owners would have to share approximately 15-20% of their annual profits with their workers. It is Dunnes Stores workers who generate the profits for the company so it is only right that those very workers should be rewarded appropriately.

Where did this claim come from?

Mandate Trade Union has conducted several surveys of Dunnes Stores workers. Through those surveys, and through discussions with members and activists, we have developed this claim, which was amended and sanctioned at the National Dunnes Committee meeting on Wednesday, 10^th July.

What next?

The next steps in our campaign for decent jobs in Dunnes Stores is for all Dunnes workers to engage with the campaign. All Dunnes workers need to sign the endorsement of this claim and be prepared to mobilise others to support it. Look out for local meetings which will be taking place across the country over the next few weeks to further explain and gather support for the campaign.