The Mandate trade union has urged retailer Laura Ashley to reconsider a decision not to enter conciliation over an industrial relations dispute at the company’s Dublin store.
Workers at the shop on Grafton Street were given notice on October 23rd that they were being made redundant. The store closed earlier in the month after a month-long consultation process.
The company is sub-letting its most prestigious location in Ireland to the Disney Corporation. Some of the workers have been offered part-time work in on of its six other Irish outlets.
But Mandate criticised the company’s refusal to pay only two weeks statutory redundancy to the 22 staff at the store and its refusal to engage with the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
Industrial relations officer Dave Moran said today the company had turned down a formal invitation by the LRC to attend a conciliation conference to settle the dispute.
“In Ireland, the Labour Relations Commission and the other elements of the State’s industrial relations machinery are highly respected both by unions and the employer’s bodies.
“Unfortunately, Laura Ashley’s British-based management don’t seem to understand how important these institutions are in trying to avoid and sort out disputes here in Ireland,” Mr Moran said.
He said staff had been “shocked and surprised" by the very short notice given to them in relation to the closure of the store.
Mr Moran said the company had made “bumper pre-tax profits” of £10.5million for the 26 weeks to the end of July, with total turnover growing by 5.7 per cent to £135.1 million.
“In their defence, Laura Ashley management have argued that much of the current profit was down to exceptional circumstances.”
With regard to the LRC invitation, a spokesman for Laura Ashley said the company was dealing directly with Mandate in relation to the matter and it believed this was the correct chanel for communication. He said it would "not be appropriate to respond to another party regarding this matter".
In a statement, the company said it remained "totally committed" to its many Irish customers and would continue to trade at its other stores.
"We consulted fully with our employees and whilst some members of the Grafton Street team transferred to alternative roles in our other stores, regrettably some members of the team were made redundant.
"We will continue to review other central Dublin locations with a view to opening another store when a suitable site becomes available and we would hope to re-employ as many of the team as possible."