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RETAILER DUNNES STORES has today been informing its 14,000 staff that it will be increasing their pay by 3 per cent. This will be the first increase in wages for the staff since December 2007.
Trade union Mandate, which attended the Labour Court this morning seeking the pay rise, said that workers recognised that they had to weather the economic crisis and that is why they have forgone pay increases over the last few years and some have even taken cuts.
Mandate’s Assistant General Secretary, Gerry Light said that most retail companies, have emerged intact from the crisis and have remained highly profitable.
“Since early 2011 Mandate Trade Union has sought to engage with retail employers to put in place pay arrangements that reflect their workers’ contribution to that success,” he said. “The vast majority of employers have engaged with us and through negotiation, we have been able to put in place a variety of agreements that reflect the economic and trading conditions being experienced by those companies.”
Light said that while he welcomed the news of the pay increase he was disappointed at the company’s “continuing failure to respect their staff’s right to be represented by a trade union”.
“Unlike many of the other major retailers – who are still extremely successful – Dunnes refuses to engage with their staff’s union of choice and didn’t even attend the Labour Court today,” he said.
“Hopefully, they might learn from some of their competitors that treating people with respect is in fact a business asset, not a liability,” he added.
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If the workers stopped paying their union rates to these maggots they would get another increase.
Totally agree
What sort of idiotic trolling comment is that, do you think dunnes gave the payrise out of the goodness of their heart or because or collective unionised bargaining? Without unions no workers in this country would have a fraction of the pay and conditions that they have. Try reading a history book about working conditions in ireland before workers formed unions rather than making such uneducated statements.
@begrudy.if they had no union they would never get a pay increase or any other benefits as who would ensure everything was looked at fairly
Ha ha. Going back all those years to the formation of the unions. Give me a break. Big difference between working conditions people had to endure in the 18th century to what it is now. Unions are as corrupt as any political party these days. All about the salary now for the union big boys and getting their mug in the media now and again trying to justify their wage and seem important.
Completely agree if the unions were to disappear overnight workers wages and conditions would plummet. It’s bad enough at the moment any victory should be savoured. If we as a workforce stood up for ourselves and others mote we wouldn’t be being screwed by the troika. A bit of social solidarity can go a long way instead we are tearing each other apart and falling into their trap of divide and conquer
Should be more not mote
Without unions all workers would earn a lot less, ibec etc would love an end to unions as they would be free to slash wages and working conditions.
Sometimes unions are needed. But when they achieve what they set out to achieve, they should be disbanded. Otherwise they will just make up stuff to do, to justify their existence. Like getting staff days off to go to the races!
Wages and working conditions slashed. Ya right. Cr*p socialist propaganda is all that is. And you call me a troll. Ha ha.
The concept of a union is very beneficial to workers,but in Ireland,they’re part of the problem,too politicised and no bang for your buck,when the heads are on massive salaries,the incentive is lost,in my workplace you can’t move a PC 2 feet in 2 minutes,you have to place a call with IT and hope they come around within 48 hours because it’s seen as crossing the boundaries of labour,inefficient joke
I agree! Stop paying the unions! Complete pack of lackies!!! Form your own unions, new a free of greed!
It was unions who negotiated your weekends off… I hope you enjoy them.
Amen, unions are a useless shower of all talk no action boys club. Stop paying the union fees and they’ll finally start working for the worker.
Shayno,we’ve probably had different experiences of unions and that’s fair enough,but in my experience they are the first port of call for whiners,under-performers and people who don’t like change in the workplace,they protect the lazy more often than not
@Gaius, I agree that some union heads at the top table are on the wrong track, much like our politicians..
But there are those and then there are the individual groups in the workplace who stop bullying, harassment,exploitation, organise personal development, further education,(SIPTU college)(SIPTU Idea’s institute, which is there to help struggling companies cost save to keep jobs),protect & improve workers conditions, inform of their rights etc..
Everybody has to be represented equally just like the real world, some will abuse but most are being abused and so long as that happens you will always have unions..
99% of members will never see Liberty hall, the real union is the unity of workers on the ground in the workplace, and that is only as good as the strength of the people in it.
You’ve listed a lot of things there that unions do to support workers in an ideal world, but I think the way forward is for unions to operate like a co-op, become leaderless and not aligned to any political party, Labour policy basically dictates SIPTU and UNITE policy
I have seen most on that list done in the last 12 months..
Most groups of members only really use Liberty hall as a support service/advice for stewards.
I think the idea was that unions influence Labour policy to help improve workers conditions, that has obviously failed badly to a large extent..
You could argue that had enough people voted Labour then they would not be the toothless party that they are now.. They have lost all credibility and only a heave and fresh faces with true family values will save the party.
God knows Fg would be even harder on the working class if they were on their own.
Maybe SIPTU should change their model like IBEC to a consultancy role, staying away from politics would mean being able to protect workers better by not being hamstringed, as not upsetting their political partners seems to be a priority.
One stupid comment
Mandate went to court Dunnes were not going to give it seriously
Well said
Cop on seriously
Your the troll Dunnes paid 21 million out before Xmas no way wud they be giving pay Ross if not for union you troll
Troll
Fantastic news.
Wow, thats very unusual to hear these days. Every little helps I suppose, errrr I mean always better value.
Wonder if unions officials have had a pay reduction at all durning recession?????????? Don’t think so
I worked in dunnes the summer before college and few years back when I had long left I got an envelope in the post saying that for part of that time I had earned below minimum wage and to please accept the €12.
Maybe this will stop the public sector bashing …. For a while anyway … While dunnes workers had a pay freeze for 5 years ,mine went down 14%. I’d love a pay freeze,instead of pay cut.
Increments.
F**k me Pierce, give it a rest will ya! This isn’t a Pub.Sector related thread! God knows there’s no shortage of them on here but for a change, just leave it will ya!?!
I like increments , they are so naughty in hard times like these .
I didn’t start it
You saying you didn’t post regarding needing a new Croke Park deal further up the thread!?!
Increments are part of core pay, the top of the scale is the salary for the role, you don’t get it till you have the necessary experience and expertise.
Dunnes are a private sector company, what they decide to do with their money is their business. The public sector are paid by the taxpayers thats the difference. If Dunnes were in a comparable situation with their finances that the state is in then it wouldn’t be paying more.
110% with Pierce here, and very good point by Michael Doran, the Dunnes workers had no pay increase for 5 years and sucked it up, when (excluding frontline) workers in the civil service whinge about percentage this and percentage that, it’s more than likely an accumulation of perks being (rightly) removed over a period of time, i.e., cashing the Friday payslip, €20 a week dry-cleaning allowance for ties etc. If a private sector company are performing well it’s because of good management and good employees, you’ll never get that combination in the civil service
dunnes staff are wel paid but badly treated. ..after five years service there (2001-2006) I was on 14.66e an hour leaving
That’s about €4 more an hour than one of these new graduate nurses will be on after four years training and two years in work!!
ya I no it is training as a nurse myself!!!! but dunnes never offer full time contracts its 15hours and most ud get is 30
Jesus Laura, not to be a grammar / spelling Nazi but, with writing like that, I hope you’re never writing on a medical treatment chart of mine if I end up in your hospital! Lol
Nuffsaid; a nurse usually won’t write in medical notes. The people who do (doctors) have illegible writing so grammar really doesn’t matter! #justsayin
Nothing wrong with 30 hrs a week I think it’s great
Not one of the new companies that have set up here such as Intel, google, apple ,Paypal etc have a union presence and you do not hear of there workers complaining .or been down trodden either
You have proved why unions are needed! These are all very good/rewarding employers, providing further education with support etc..they treat their staff well as they know that staff will give their all to an appreciative employer.. if they started screwing over their staff they would join a union in a flash to protect their working conditions & pay/pension.
One of my friends of 15 years wife works for Google,got maternity leave no questions asked and crèche facilities for emergencies without any hassle,probably the exception,but not a sniff of a union about the place
Absolute nonsense.
Those companies operate in a labour market in which there are far more jobs than people. In addition, the people they want to hire are highly qualified engineers, linguists etc. who would have absolutely no problem leaving the country and getting a job anywhere in the world if they were treated badly.
The STEM employment market is just so competitive that companies need to pull out all the stops to get people to want to work for them
Now compare/contrast these highly paid jobs held by highly skilled professionals with retailers like Dunnes. Unskilled workers are basically held at ransom by the economy and their employers. Employment is hard enough to find, and they can’t just up sticks and move abroad because unskilled work is just as hard to find anywhere in the world. Employers prey on people like that, and have time and time again treated workers in such roles like dirt. Unions protect their members from predatory employers like that.
if any of you people know anyone working for dunnes well you’ll know how the badly management treat there staff. dunnes management didn’t even bother turning up to the labour court from which this wage increase has come from, not from the goodness of margerets heart. even after the best christmas period in recent years and hundreds of millions of euros made in porfit in the last couple of years. so fair play to the staff for getting what they are due and deserve.
I work for Dunnes Keith totally disagree wat you said about the management
I worked for Dunnes also,mixed experience regarding management,overall find memories though
*fond
Wahoo!!
I don’t like dunnes stores since they recently banned animal charities from raising funds in there stores… Ar*eh*les
If they’d ban scouts/football teams from hanging around the bagging area I’d go to Dunnes more.
How can they say one charity is more important than another and who decides this?
I agree completely Ronan, I have no problem giving to these people on occasion but I haven’t been in the supermarket once in the past year without them being there, starts to take the piss a little bit.
It seems the younger folk here forget the incredible stance taken by Dunnes workers regarding the apartheid regime in South Africa,kind of puts the animal rights argument in perspective
two thirds of that will go to Government in Taxes and of course the recent PRSI changes. Dunn’s workers work very hard.When you get a pay increase sometimes you are caught in a different ban by a few euro maybe you might prefer not to get one.
Fair fecks to them!!! Better then the horrible shower I work for in ballsbridge.
Ha ha good man leno
I remember working for Dunnes stores and being out on strike in 1996 for 3 weeks with the trade union Mandate for an increment of 15% that they told us we would definitely get if we went out( are wages were rubbish at the time) they (Mandate)basically told us after three weeks the company was offering 3% and we should take it as we were never going to get anything more!! After all that!!!. Wonder did these workers ask for the same?
Nothing was asked for it was given not complaining
Wat kind of deluded people on here think people wud have better working conditions and pay without a union
Pay rises in the private sector? I thought all us private sector workers were on the breadline while the might public service were taking all the cash
They need a Croke Park type deal.
Groceries will probably go up again to pay for this :-(
The hard working staff of Dunnes deserve more than just 3%. I can’t understand why anybody would knock them for a paltry few sheckles.
Good news
Maybe I shouldn’t have left all those years ago!
Must have had a good day at the horses!!
Some great piss ups dunnes threw for the staff at Christmas and Summer …
A turn in the economy is what I was suggesting.
Ciaran people on welfare there because no jobs that a very stupid thing to say wealthy get away with murder ur one of them by sounds of it
Good for them!
Yes but they failed to mention dunnes is going to go to a foreign multinational this year, suspected to be asda. They will no doubt close a lot of the redundant shops with the loss of hundreds/ thousands of jobs.
Where you get that rubbish phil
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Dear Ireland!
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