Dunnes Stores has been accused of using the outcome of a court injunction to close its Gorey store without notice or explanation.
Shocked staff were told on Thursday evening the store in the Gorey Shopping Centre was closing to the public immediately.
More than 100 people work there.
No explanation was forthcoming, but Mandate general secretary John Douglas said it was linked to an injunction granted on Thursday to the receivers who run the Gorey Shopping Centre, where Dunnes is the anchor tenant.
The injunction was taken by Paul McCann and Stephen Tennant of Grant Thornton, who were appointed by AIB to run the centre and five other shopping centres.
The receivers are reported to be on the verge of selling the six shopping centres to US investment fund Davidson Kempner.
Quoting from a letter circulated to other traders in the centre, Mr Douglas said it was clear the shutdown showed Dunnes’ “contempt” for its own workers and “arrogance when it comes to abiding by the laws of the land”.
The letter was sent from Bannon Property Consultants in Dublin to other tenants of the shopping centre.
‘Clear breach’
It stated: “Dunnes Stores opened a door leading directly to the surface car park last November. The net effect of opening this door was that customers could bypass the smaller traders on the mall and it was a clear breach of their lease obligations.
“Dunnes Stores was asked to close the door on numerous occasions but refused to engage on the issue. To protect the business of the small traders on the mall the receiver sought an injunction to force Dunnes Stores to close the door to the surface car park, and that injunction was granted yesterday pending a formal arbitration hearing.
“Following the court’s decision, Dunnes Stores has taken the decision to close the store with immediate effect. We appreciate how serious this issue is for all involved and will keep you informed of progress.”
Mr Douglas said Dunnes’ management “should be ashamed of themselves” and he accused the company of “playing games with people’s lives over a side entrance to the business. The anxiety, uncertainty and stress this has caused those 100 workers in Gorey is totally unnecessary and unacceptable.”
Shock and distress
Shocked staff met to discuss the closure at a hotel in Gorey last night. Two who spoke to The Irish Times without giving their names told of their shock and distress at the sudden closure of the store, which opened in October 2007.
One, who has been with the store since the beginning, accused Dunnes’ owner Margaret Heffernan of “playing fast and loose with our livelihoods”.
She left her shift at 4pm on Thursday evening, only to be called at 6.30pm to be told the store was closing.
Management, she added, had “added insult to injury” by not only offering no explanation as to why the store was closing, but also telling the staff on duty at a “very curt, abrupt meeting to pass the word around”.
She was told by one manager that their jobs were safe and they would be paid, but “when I asked for it in writing, I was refused”.
Another worker said the manner of the closure was one of the reasons why the “decency for Dunnes’ workers” campaign must continue.
“This has highlighted the disregard they have for us in the way that they have handled this. There should have been a sort of plan to deal with workers and there has been nothing. Everybody needs their weekly wage. A lot of us have children in college.”
Centre manager Niamh O’Byrne declined to comment when approached by The Irish Times.
There are signs up around the Dunnes Stores branch stating: “Dear Customers, We wish to inform you that this store is closed until further notice. Signed Dunnes Stores management.”
Dunnes Stores have not commented on the closure.
