At 19 months, veteran picketer Kavan can take it all in his snooze

FOR Kavan Naughton it was the second time in his 19-month life that he has found himself on the picket line.

Kavan - his mother Sandra said she discovered the name in a book and that it means "handsome Irish boy" - was sleeping on picket duty outside the Dunnes store in North Earl Street, Dublin, yesterday morning.

The shop was closed and the workers on picket duty were sitting around, seemingly content enough with the public support they were getting.

Kavan was snug in his buggy - an old hand - snoozing away.

"I have to bring him with me. I can't afford a babysitter now I'm on strike," said Sandra. "Last year it was the same. He was here every day for the three weeks."

"He's our mascot," said Martin Ruane. Kavan, who was sleeping so soundly he gave the impression that time had stopped, was placed safely between the line of sitting picketers and the closed door of the shop, well out of the sun.

"Another girl who was here yesterday had her two-year-old, and she's six months pregnant," said Catherine Reid.

"And another girl who was here yesterday is seven months pregnant. She's huge and she was wrecked. The standing around Just kills you, if you're pregnant."

The regular shoppers are coming up to us and telling us they wish us well," said Martin. "The public have been very supportive."

The workers had just been given news that management and unions were to meet later. "We're hoping it will be good news, that we'll be back to work tomorrow" said Sandra.

"But we want things signed, sealed and delivered before we go back, not like last year."

Over in the ILAC centre off Henry Street, one could not help but feel sorry for the strikers, picketing out of the sun.

"I was here all day yesterday and most of the customers who went in were people making returns," said Philip Gallagher, who has been a sales assistant Dunnes for three months.

The store shutters were down.

"I'd say they'll settle pretty quickly," said Philip. "They lost so much money last year, they just can't afford to lose to the other stores. They're between a rock and a hard place, because we are not going to give in."

Philip was sure there would be concessions on both sides, but said that Dunnes would have to give what they promised last year. "They have a bad reputation as it is, they don't want a worse reputation."

The ILAC centre itself was quiet, with all businesses obviously suffering from the strike.

The same seemed true on the ground floor of the St Stephen's Green Centre. "No one closed last year, but everyone felt it," said one trader.

By the shuttered doors to the Dunnes store the picketers, mostly young women, were sitting on the floor, reading or listening to personal stereos, far away from the sun.