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Updated 14.23
CLERYS WORKERS ARE protesting this afternoon outside the headquarters of Natrium, the company that bought the marquee department store last Friday at the expense of 500 jobs.
Around 30 workers from the new defunct store made their presence known outside Natrium’s building, on Harcourt Terrace in Dublin’s south city centre.
Worker Gerry Markey, a 30-year veteran of Clerys, knocked on the firm’s door to deliver a letter of protest to Deirdre Foley, one of Natrium’s directors.
The protest comes after Natrium finally broke their silence this morning over last week’s controversial sale, and said they will “significantly invest” in rejuvenating the store.
Natrium, which has been the centre of a growing controversy over its treatment of staff at the iconic store, says it will deliver a “best-in-class mixed use destination” and aims to revamp the whole of O’Connell Street.
There is no mention of the fate of former staff of the store, 500 of whom lost their jobs with no notice, but Natrium says it will create 1,000 jobs through the planning, design and building of the store, with a “minimum” of 1,700 jobs when the project is complete.
The company says that they “are conscious that the necessary closure of the department store has had a very serious impact on the former employees”.
A Natrium spokesperson said the refurbishment offered an opportunity for the northside of the city.
“The Clerys building can be transformed to create a major new mixed use destination in Dublin City centre and to create large numbers of sustainable jobs. There is strong demand from international retailers and other commercial users for unique and best in class spaces within the city centre that is not currently being met.”
At 5pm last Friday, staff were told that they no longer had jobs at the store after Natrium completed a deal to buy the store. The company had employed 130 staff and a further 330 were employed in concession stores.
Natrium’s statement in full:
Natrium recognises the considerable public interest in the future of Clerys following the events of the past week. We plan to significantly invest in the rejuvenation of the Clerys building and adjacent properties, in compliance with Dublin City Council planning policy. The intended rejuvenation, working in partnership with local stakeholders and other interested parties, will be based around designing and delivering a best-in-class mixed use destination for Dublin City Centre. This will be an important catalyst in the repositioning of O’Connell Street as one of the great thoroughfares of Europe and the iconic Clerys building and clock will play a central role.
Natrium will provide more information and initial plans in the coming months. Job creation will feature significantly in those plans with approximately 1,000 jobs supported throughout the planning, design, refurbishment and construction stages of the project over a two year period. On completion, a predominantly retail-led development encompassing other commercial uses, subject to the planning process, will generate a minimum of 1,700 new sustainable long-term jobs in Dublin City Centre.
A rejuvenation of the Clerys building will assist in the revitalisation of this area, create significant new employment and will make a very real and lasting contribution to the City Centre. We are advised that all issues with respect to the liquidation of the operating company are legally a matter for the court-appointed liquidator. Natrium recognises that the Clerys building has been a very important institution for generations of Dubliners, and in particular for those who have worked there over the years. We are conscious that the necessary closure of the department store has had a very serious impact on the former employees.
A Natrium spokesperson said, “The Clerys building can be transformed to create a major new mixed use destination in Dublin City Centre and to create large numbers of sustainable jobs. There is strong demand from international retailers and other commercial users for unique and best in class spaces within the City Centre that is not currently being met. Natrium looks forward to proceeding with its plans for the Clerys properties and the surrounding area in compliance with Dublin City Council planning policy.”
Natrium Ltd is a joint venture between D2 Private and funds managed by Cheyne Capital Management (UK) LLP. It was established to invest in a range of real estate projects in Dublin and specifically Dublin City Centre. The acquisition of the Clerys property and adjacent properties is its first development project.
With additional reporting by Cianan Brennan.
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Re 50 Shades
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again If I wanted to watch a poorly written movie with a cast of unknowns and badly acted, unrealistic sex scenes I just watch actual porn.
Do girl.
Haha, hypothetically speaking that is.
Down to with this sort of thing!
There’s people coming from gdansk to see the film!
Ah in fairness the people from Gdansk are probably here to collect the social welfare and going to the cinema to kill time before the flight home.
Looking forward to film version of Fionnuala O’Carroll-Kelly’s ‘Fifty Greys in Shades’
“Why go to the cinema to watch other people have sex? It’s perverted. If I go to the cinema I want to be entertained”
In the olden days couples were known to ‘do it’ on the floor in the back row of the balcony seats in the Leinster Cinema in Dolphins Barn, giving much entertainment to us young lads.
I’m looking forward to it actually, hope its in 3 D too
The sequel is already in production – 50 Shaves a Day starring Susan Boyle!
In the words of Family Guy’s Glen Quagmire: “Giggidy gigidy al…rite…”
”Why go to the cinema to watch other people have sex? It’s perverted. If I go to the cinema I want to be entertained.”
Guess what Mary? A hell of a lot of people find sex entertaining. And (you may need to sit down for this one) a very large percentage of the 100 million copies of FSOG sold were to women, as is the target audience for the film. That’s a lot of lady perverts. But the good news for you is Shaun The Sheep is on. The clean version.
I’ve s feeling film is going to gratuitous just for the sake of it.
More ebbing away of Ireland’s mortality
Gary seriously get a hobby for yourself. Sick of your comments on nearly every article.
Ireland’s morality has been eroded by the very people who were preaching it. An organisation that was rife with child molesters, paedophiles, people who would abuse physically, mentally and sexually and then get up on an altar and tell people how they live their lives. Sorry now but a film/book about sex is not going to destroy this country.
I think Gary Gary is from one of them groups that dress women up from head to toe to cover them up for morality reasons. Yet when they get home they 50 shades the women where people can’t see them or judge them. It’s the 21st century Gary Gary come into the light my friend.
Mortality btw is about death. Morality is about morals fyi..
Gary
I’m surprised you’re posting comments here, I though you’d be at Mass!
Pat the only problem with what you said there is that people i.e the clergy did those things. It never said in the bible to abuse children and I do think there needs to be a separation there. But yes a lot of bad people preached one thing and did another and as a result hurt the church, country and people. Not all but some.
We’ll said Pat
Sex is not evil, immoral or a negative, we are the most sexualised and social beings on this earth. The head of the human penis is shaped like so to plunge other semen out of the vagina, we think about and have Sex More than any other animal, our biology shows that sex was used to strengthen bonds, people that love an old book have made us feel guilty of these natural “immoral” urges, wish they’d get a grip and stop trying to legislate nonsense on other people, feel free to flagellate yourselves though.
Save yourself a tenner: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl
Would you watch your sister in a porn movie skippy?
“Austerity in Ireland ended more than 12 months ago.” Good one, isn’t not the whole of the eurozone in austerity because it was aimed at the currency rather than countries and this led to countries being in worst austerity than the Euro. How can the Eurozone have a currency that is in austerity and the countries using it are not, I find that confusing?
Time to do away with the whip system in government ,I say!
have your say