'That money is ours' - Former Debenhams workers vow to keep up store blockades
Former Debenhams workers physically blocked a van today carrying what workers believe was a safe containing an estimated €70,000 from its closed Cork stores.
And they vowed to mount further blockades to prevent any further attempts to remove cash or stock from the former retail giant’s network of Irish shops until the company pays its workforce here a fair redundancy.
“This is an official strike action. That money is ours,” former worker Madeline Whelan said as she and more than 20 former Debenhams workers mounted the blockade at the rear of the Debenhams’ flagship St Patrick’s St store.
They had just taken part in one of a series of coordinated noon protests with colleagues around the country outside Bank of Ireland branches in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Waterford, and Newbridge as part of their ongoing campaign for a fair redundancy package (the bank owns around 5% of Debenhams’ parent company) when word came through that an attempt was being made to remove something from a service entrance to the rear of the St Patrick’s Street store. A security guard was involved in the operation.
Workers said they had information that the van was carrying a safe containing tens of thousands of euro in cash, which had been in either the city centre or Mahon Point store.
Gardaí were called to the standoff on Merchant St, off Parnell Place, which continued for several hours. A number of local and national politicians stood with the workers.
Socialist TD Mick Barry said the money stored in the company’s safes should be used to defend jobs or “at the very least to find decent redundancy packages”.
“The workers have my full support in taking the stand they took and blocking the truck,” he said.
“If the liquidators have this much trouble moving one safe out of one shop, I can’t imagine the problems they are going to have trying to move 1.25m items of stock out of 11 stores without a just settlement.”
Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent said the workers were entitled to take the stand they did.
“They are flagging to the company that any attempt by them or the liquidators to remove assets will be blocked. The workers are determined to take a stand and the members of Cork City Council are supportive of the workers,” he said.
Debenhams’ liquidation process was triggered just before the Easter weekend when Debenhams Retail in Britain moved to appoint an administrator and indicated that it was withdrawing support from its loss-making Irish operation which manages 11 stores and directly employs almost 1,000 people. A further 500 people work in concessions within the stores.
