Debenhams workers to protest outside Bank of Ireland in Dublin
Debenhams workers are to protest in Dublin again today, in anger over the loss of their jobs.
They will gather outside Bank of Ireland on Dame Street at 1pm, because of the bank's shares in the retailer.
Workers are calling on the Government to ensure the financial institution contributes to better redundancy payments for them.
Henry Street Debenhams Shop Steward Jane Crowe is urging the public to back their plight.
“We’re asking anybody that’s passed by to just stop and give us their support,” she said.
“If you’re driving past give us a beep of your horn.
“And we’d ask people maybe to respect for the hour or two that we’re there not to go into the Bank of Ireland during that time period, just to show their support for us.”
On Saturday, former Debenhams workers marked the 100th day of their dispute over redundancy terms by staging a series of protests around Ireland.
The staff claim the package offered to them when the company was liquidated in the spring was unfair.
They are set to receive statutory redundancy payouts of two weeks of salary per year of service. The workers are demanding four weeks’ pay per service year.
They are also calling on the Government to waive monies owed to it through the liquidation process so they can be used to boost the redundancy packages.
Liquidator KPMG is set to use proceeds of the liquidation of assets to pay off key creditors, such as the Revenue Commissioners and other state bodies.
The workers have been blocking the removal of stock from the stores since their closure.
KPMG has warned that the blockade of the stock removal is slowing the liquidation process.
The Irish arm of Debenhams, which operated 11 stores in the country, was placed into liquidation in April.
