A survival plan to secure the future of Superquinn agreed between management and unions will result in nearly 400 redundancies at the supermarket chain.
Trade unions Mandate, Siptu and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BAFU) said the deal included “some pain” for workers, including a voluntary redundancy package that would see a total of 394 workers leave the company.
The redundancy package will pay four weeks’ salary for each year of service with no cap. Workers will also now own 1.5 per cent of the business through a formal profit-sharing scheme.
The unions and the company will set a budgeted net profit annually. When the company exceeds this profit, one third of the difference will be shared directly amongst Superquinn workers.
A pay pause for a provisional period of 12 months has also been agreed. At that point, the company and the unions will review Superquinn’s financial position.
Some 3,000 members of the three trades unions were balloted on the deal and it was accepted by a “significant majority”, they said.
The unions said in a statement the “highly innovative and progressive” deal could be “a blueprint for how partnership should work in difficult times”.
“While it sees workers take some pain in the short term, they will experience benefits when the company returns to profitability,” the statement said.
Mandate assistant general secretary Gerry Light said: “A lot of credit for this deal should go to the workers in Superquinn who have recognised that the company is going through challenging times and consequently they have behaved in a very mature and responsible manner by balloting for acceptance of the Programme for Competitiveness and Change.
“This deal shows how trade unions, employers and workers can, through partnership and responsible actions, reach acceptable and meaningful outcomes for all interested parties. The unique arrangement reached between Superquinn and the group of unions should be seen as a potential blueprint by any company suffering similar difficulties in the current economic environment.”
Founded by Senator Feargal Quinn in 1960, Superquinn has 24 stores in Ireland. It was sold by Mr Quinn and his family in 2005 to Select Retail Holdings, a consortium backed by a number of property developers.