Female manager awarded €50,000

A FEMALE manager at Connacht Gold Co-operative has been awarded €50,000 for discrimination and harassment in an equality tribunal ruling.

Eithne McDermott was in her 50s and working as manager of the Castlerea, Co Roscommon, branch for more than 30 years when she was fired in 2007.

Ms McDermott told the tribunal of a change in her treatment after the merger of two co-operatives to form Connacht Gold in 2000.

She believed there was a campaign designed to remove her from her management position and replace her with a man. She also believed the new management wanted to get rid of the older staff members.

Such behaviour included repeatedly offering her redundancy, telling her she would be replaced by a male manager and rumours circulating that she was leaving, the tribunal heard.

Ms McDermott was also asked to produce sales figures when other managers were not, the tribunal was told.

The company denied discriminatory treatment. It said she had been asked to produce the plan because she was underperforming.

Ms McDermott told the tribunal of a catalogue of incidents with one manager, including being touched inappropriately on the shoulder and being called “a waste of space”.

She also felt pressure to work a six-day week despite family commitments with the manager telling her “to hell with your children”, she told the tribunal. The manager in question denied the complaints.