Clerys staff to get statutory redundancy, liquidators say

A rally in support of Clerys workers outside the department store on Dublin's O'Connell St has finished.

The protest followed the news that 130 direct employees of Clerys will receive basic statutory redundancy, and “robust” exchanges at Liberty Hall as liquidators for Clerys met with union officials.

Representatives from KPMG, including court-appointed liquidator Kieran Wallace, were present at the discussions involving union members and shop stewards in Dublin city centre.

Speaking afterwards, Siptu’s retail sector organiser Teresa Hannick said it could be more than eight weeks before former employees of the department store receive any reimbursement for wages owed or statutory payments to which they are entitled.

"It was a very frank and robust meeting. There was a lot of anger, very palpable anger . . . Our members have asked how can Gordon Brothers, an organisation that's worth a fortune but spent very little on Clerys, walk away and leave them with nothing, and they're unable to answer that.

“The taxpayer will be paying for the redundancy, the taxpayer will be paying our members’ back wages and for holiday entitlements . . . it’s the taxpayer again who is going to have to pay for this,” she said.

Also present was Michael Meegan, an organiser with the Mandate trade union, who thanked KPMG for its handling of the sudden closure on Friday, which resulted in the loss of 460 jobs.

“We thanked KPMG for coming in there and being frank with us. Unfortunately, we are now in a situation where these members were treated abominably by their former employers.

“The Government should now look at the whole legislative process around corporate law and how it’s treating employees at this moment in time,” he said.

Statutory redundancy

During a meeting earlier today, liquidators informed Minister of State for Business and Employment Ged Nash that 130 direct employees of Clerys will receive basic statutory redundancy, with no funding set aside for additional ex gratia payments, such as payments for length of service.

An additional 330 employees worked for concession stands within the store, about half of whom had no union affiliation.

The concession holders claim they are owed up to €5 million in stock and cash from Clerys.

In a statement, the concession holders demanded an urgent and immediate return of their directly owned stock, valued at more than €3 million, which they were forced to leave in the store after it closed on Friday.

They also demanded the immediate return of €2 million in cash, which they say is owed to them from their own direct sales proceeds, which should have been held in trust by Clerys.

David Jones, spokesman for the concession holders, said the manner in which the closure had been handled was “outrageous”.

“Not only will our loyal staff be affected directly by their potential loss of employment, our businesses are now facing the possible threat of major financial losses as a result of this shocking development.

“We are calling on the provisional joint liquidators to release our stock immediately and to reassure us on the funds held in trust for us. Any attempt to retain our stock or our sales proceeds would be immoral and unjust.”

The liquidators have endeavoured to enter into one-on-one meetings with all those affected in order to process claims for monies owed.

Although Government assistance will be provided through social protection funds, the situation regarding holiday and pension payments remains unclear.

Clerys protest

Down the road at the Clerys store, hundreds of workers gathered at midday to protest at the handling of the change of ownership from Gordon Brothers to the Natrium consortium.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions had called on the public to support the rally for Clerys workers.

Many said they were only notified of the mass job losses by friends and through social media on Friday evening.

“I have 43 years’ service in Clerys. I’m very disappointed, I’ve only two years to go until I retire, and I was hoping to go out with a bit of a bang. Vulture capitalism at its worst, it has destroyed a lot of people,” said Siptu shop steward John Finn.

Maureen Deans, a Clerys employee of 15 years who worked there with her son, said that the news of the job losses was met with confusion.

“[My son] was on the way home on Friday when I phoned him to tell him he has no job, that we didn’t know what was happening. We were called to a meeting and told that’s the end of business. It’s a real case of profit before people.”

Having worked in the ladies’ fashion department for a number of years, Yvonne Wolfe spoke of her frustration at her treatment following Trojan attempts to clear the premises of stock when floods struck in 2013.

“We literally emptied out that shop and took everything out of it, then put everything back into the shop. They didn’t pay us when we were out of work, and now they do this to us behind our backs?

“We’re so angry. There’s people who have mortgages and kids, how are we going to survive? I’m smashed,” she said.

Cabinet meeting

Mr Nash briefed Ministers on the Clerys closure at this morning’s Cabinet meeting.

Before the meeting Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the closure of Clerys was “very insensitive” and “could have been handled a lot better”.

The Taoiseach said he was glad the liquidator was meeting both the Government and workers’ representatives today.

“I think the symbolism of Clerys and how long it’s been there and the way this was done certainly could have been handled a lot better,” Mr Kenny said.

“It is a court decision I know, but given such an iconic building in the middle of O’Connell Street and for workers who in some cases have been there for over 40 years, it was in my view very insensitive.”

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin described the treatment of “loyal” Clerys workers as “shabby” and “a bolt from the blue”.

Mr Howlin said this morning he hoped the department store would trade again.

“Most people were shocked that it came out of the blue . . . I think it’s a bolt from the blue,” he said.

“It seems on the face of it, obviously I’ll await a report from [Minister of State for employment] Ged Nash later on the day, on the face of it it seems a very shabby way to treat workers who have been in loyal service and I hope that we’ll have better news after the meetings take place,” he said.

“Obviously the most important thing if we can is to make sure everybody gets their full legal entitlements and hopefully get a functioning store.

“This is an iconic location in the heart of our capital city. From my childhood coming to Dublin meant going to Clerys from Wexford, and I’m sure for many people across the country and in Dublin Clerys was an iconic location that I hope I’ll see thriving as a place of retail again.”

Store sold

The Dublin department store was sold last Friday by Boston-based Gordon Brothers to Natrium Ltd, which comprises Irish investment group D2 Private and Cheyne Capital Management in the UK, with financing from Quadrant Real Estate Advisers.

Hours later the High Court appointed Mr Wallace and Mr Richardson of KPMG as joint provisional liquidators to the company operating Clerys, OCS Operations Ltd. The sale price has not been disclosed.

One of Europe’s oldest purpose-built department stores, Clerys opened in 1853, albeit under a different name. It had survived two World Wars, a civil war and many recessions, but debts relating to the Celtic Tiger property bubble almost brought its closure in the 2000s.

Clerys lost €2 million in the year to the end of January 2011 before going into receivership.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has described as “absolutely despicable” the treatment of workers at Clerys who lost their jobs in Friday’s closure.

Ms Burton said the sudden closure, giving the employees as little as 30 minutes notice in some cases, was "probably one of the worst examples of capitalism at its worst".