Sir, – It is reported in the media that many employees at Clerys heard of the closure just minutes before the end of business on Friday or by text, Facebook or in the media. The liquidators, a well-known firm of accountants, had the locks changed by nightfall.
The handling of the staff on the closure of Clerys is close to my heart. I am sure the previous owners, the Guiney family, would have dealt with the staff with respect along the lines we did. It’s pure common sense and should not need training courses or legislation or the employment of a liquidator.
We too had an iconic store in O’Connell Street, occupying most of the block between Cathal Brugha Street and Parnell Street and we too sold to a property developer. We also had long-term and short-term debts.
In the 1960s, with the arrival of the self-service and supermarket method of selling, the traditional grocery trade, operating from behind a counter, found it difficult to survive.
Halfway through 1968 we invited the entire staff, well over 250, from our 20 branch shops and the O’Connell Street headquarters, to a meeting in Liberty Hall, which we had hired for the event. The choice of venue was entirely ours and not influenced by a union. We explained the level of sales and profitability needed to survive and the challenge was discussed and taken seriously.
Six months later, with sales not responding, we called all the staff to a meeting in the Gresham Hotel, next door to our head office. We explained everything, the closure arrangements and personally gave each employee their statutory redundancy form. Tea and cakes were served and it more resembled a farewell party than a closure.
We phased the branch closures over a four-week period. We paid the wages in full, the statutory redundancy and a bonus on top based on years of service. Every one received a reference, many of them testimonials to their years of service with the firm. Pensions were honoured and creditors paid in full. We had no union problems because of the diligent way we went about the closure; we dealt with three unions covering different sections of the business and the staff association for non-union employees. Only when all this was done, and the creditors, Revenue and loan holders paid, did the shareholders get a distribution. There was never any thought of a liquidator doing this nasty work for us.
We also did our homework. During the closure period we spoke with other Dublin employers and, due to the excellence of the Findlater staff, they were much sort after.
Would it be too much to expect the liquidators of Clerys to ask the owners of Clerys, past and present, to dip into their treasure chests and deal with their employees with respect as we did, and most responsible employers do? – Yours, etc,
ALEX FINDLATER,
Cong, Co Mayo.
Sir, –After nearly five years, no one has any excuse to be stupid enough to believe Fine Gael cares one jot about those staff at Clerys, or more importantly that it will do anything to help them. Enda Kenny has been Taoiseach since 2011 and we know his modus operandi by now. He'll stand up in the Dáil, read a script prepared by a civil servant because the effort of speaking without notes is too taxing for him and the civil servants get nervous when he's allowed go off script. He might even have a lump in his throat or he might even go so far as to bite his lip and give you his Marilyn look, with the head down but the eyes looking up.
But as Cloynes, Moriarty, Fennelly, IBRC, Nama, the banking inquiry, and a host of other tribunals and reports show us, after the speech he won’t actually do anything. There is no follow-up and each and every time he has a choice. He will always always – always – put the institution first. So if any Clerys staff are thinking this Government will do anything to ensure they receive what is reasonable for any staff who have been made redundant, they’ll be waiting if they expect someone like Mr Kenny is going to take their side.
Remember, Mr Kenny’s mantra is to make Ireland the best small country in the world to do business. That goal is completely and utterly incompatible with any aspiration to make the country a place worth living for the people who work for the type of businesses Mr Kenny and Fine Gael want so badly to attract. Just look at his utter failure to do anything to tackle the cost of childcare, public transport or personal debt or the cost of State utilities like water and electricity, the four biggest issues facing “ordinary” people. – Yours, etc,
DESMOND FitzGERALD,
Canary Wharf,
London.
A chara, – Passing by Clerys on the bus and seeing staff of all ages protesting, I was reminded of the Taoiseach’s claim that we are “the best little country to do business in”. Indeed we are. – Is mise,
JOHN SULLIVAN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir ,– The greatest little country in the world to be done over by business. – Yours, etc,
FERGUS WHELAN,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – If the treatment of workers at Clerys is an example of “the best small country in the world in which to do business”, then I’d be happy to have a bit less of it. – Yours, etc,
ANDREW KINSELLA,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – As a general election looms into sight, a charter to protect workers should be foremost in people’s minds. – Yours, etc,
EUGENE TANNAM,
Dublin 24.
Sir, – Politicians who have been the biggest cheerleaders of neoliberalism are seeking to portray the disgraceful treatment of Clerys workers as being somehow exceptional. This is utterly contemptible.
And this is not capitalism “at its worst”. This is capitalism in its essence. – Yours, etc,
RODDY KEENAN,
Stamford,
Lincolnshire.