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FORMER CLERYS WORKERS who lost their jobs will rally outside the store today to mark the one-year anniversary of its closure.
A total of 460 workers at the department store found themselves unemployed without notice when the store closed its doors suddenly last June shortly after it was bought by a company, Natrium, for €29 million.
This included employees of Clerys as well as concession holders. Many of the workers had been employed at the department store for decades.
Since its closure, the workers, back by Siptu, have fought for and won their entitlements. However, they continue to campaign for a change in the law to ensure other employees can’t be treated in a similar manner.
The workers are seeking “a review of laws on the protection of employee interests when assets are separated from an operating company”, they said in a statement this morning. They will hold a ‘Time for Justice’ rally at 2pm this afternoon.
A report into the store’s closure found in April that transactions similar to the Clerys situation should be made illegal. The workers are seeking for the report to be implemented.
John Finn, a Clerys worker for more than 40 years, previously told The Journal.ie the workers want to keep fighting for others who may find themselves in a similar situation.
“What happens doesn’t affect us, but it will for the workforce coming forward,” he said.
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Genuine question, not trolling or stirring…….what sectors still aren’t open that sees/warrants almost 100,000 people still being on the PUP? There’s a massive labour shortage in the country and there seems to be a percentage of people benefiting financially from staying on the PUP as opposed to going back to work. That includes foreign nationals who went back to their birth country and are in receipt of the payment (matter of fact, not speculation).
@Barry Evans: they should make everyone on it turn in person next week to collect it. Then they will know how many in the country or not.
@Barry Evans: The ELE sector was permitted to resume activity last month however it’s going to take time to rebuild it. Students aren’t just going to start coming here again overnight and until there is enough to facilitate more classes there will still be a lot of teachers out of work. Speaking for myself I am not benefiting financially from staying on the PUP as opposed to going back to work and will be only too happy to return to my post when it becomes available.
@Barry Evans:
There may be a shortage of people who want to give their labour for cheap, or for free.
But there’s not a labour shortage.
@Dean: I can assure you that there’s a labour shortage and its not for jobs paying thrupence haypenny. Look at the construction sector and there are massive shortages of labour across the board. Your comment is a throw away one based on nothing
@Barry Evans:
Shortage of supply = value increases. So we were taught.
Shortage of houses and prices go up. But a “shortage” of labour and employers won’t offer the asking price; they just complain that there’s no one to work (for their low wages which don’t get people above water).
@Dean: What are you talking about, it doesn’t look like you’ve worked in a while or your possible unskilled. Over the past 12 months an acute labour shortage has occurred within many sectors. Rates of pay have increased to attract suitability skilled workers to fill these positions.
@Barry Evans: Nightclubs & music venues still closed off the top of my head but a lot of people have left the country and many don’t want to work nights anymore and have moved into 9-5 jobs. Lack of language students most of whom would work 20 p/w in hospitality jobs and chronic housing issues doesn’t help either
@Mary Finn: They got 20,000 to do that this week
@Dean: employers won’t offer the asking price??? Are you having a giraffe? Labourers are being offered 18 quid an hour on sites and they still can’t get people. Hardly minimum wage! There’s a whole cohort in this country who don’t want to work or have grossly over valued themselves. Sounds like you’re definitely falling into the second bracket. I accept that there are some sectors like nightclubs and entertainment who are still stood down or dusting themselves down and starting again but it doesn’t get away from the fact that there’s a shortage of people willing to work. With regard to shortage of supply = increased value, a lot of companies are locked into fixed overheads, fixed price contracts etc from before this sh 1 t storm but sure go right ahead and only see one perspective!
@Barry Evans: The event industry is not yet re opened. No events at RDS for example. Husbands boss said business will resume in 2022 eventually. PUP is needed or otherwise drop a lifelong carrier. I get it you are not happy with people on PUP, Ireland is the slowest country in EU to re open events…
@Pupi_51%: it’s not that I’m unhappy with people being on the PUP. If people from a particular sector for which they’re qualified, such as the one you mentioned, still can’t work then I have no issue whatsoever with them being in receipt of the payment. Once it can be verified in writing by their employer that the sector/organisation still isn’t operating or generating revenue. I dont however believe that’s the case in almost 100,000 recipients of the payment as per the article. If you can be working you should be working, simple as that!
@Barry Evans:
Nightclubs
Live Venues
Airline Travel is long way off normal (this is big)
Some Public Transport (Nightlink)
That is just a start… But the economy is not back on speed and there is places that it might never come back (due to us changing habits)
Slated for saying it a month ago and likely to be again now but when is enough enough. There are so many jobs out there. Sure people don’t want to do them, sure they don’t all pay well but it’s nearly 2 years since covid hit…. Can’t possibly be absolutely no other option for alot of the 100k.
Thats on paper only, paper and reality are very different. If you know you know.
@To Mt: very mysterious comment. Guessing the department moved away from paper a long time ago ;)
@To Mt: how can they not know how many people are on PUP? How do you know more? Be less mysterious and more specific.
The department should send our questionnaires to see if people are still entitled to it.
@Chris Gaffney: they did
have your say