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EASONS
Posted: Nov 19, 2009
Eason faces staff action over pay cuts
The Eason chain of stores has announced that it is to impose a 12.5% pay cut on its 1,500 employees across its 38 stores throughout Ireland. The attack is being resisted by staff, all of whom are in SIPTU. SIPTU described the proposed cuts in pay as "bordering on the immoral". Noel Maguire, union organiser, said staff can’t afford to take the cuts. Eason is a rich company with assets that could be used to realise any necessary cash without attacking staff wages.
SIPTU held discussions through the Labour Relations Commission with Eason’s management team, which was headed up by new boss, Conor Whelan, on Friday 6th November. Eason made no comments ahead of the hearing. No agreement was reached and so the case will now to go to an industrial relations tribunal at the Labour Court. A decision is expected in the next month.
In 2007, Eason made a profit of €1.2m but it recently filed accounts revealing a loss of €26.3m for the year to 29th January 2009, including a €22.4m charge due to the decline in the Irish property market. Turnover fell from €466.8m to €248.4m because of poor retail sales but also due to transfer of the wholesale news section of the business.
Eason pension holders were alarmed recently to receive notification that there are now insufficient funds to cover their pension entitlements. However, this alarm has turned to anger on discovering that a company director who is a major shareholder took €2m out of the pension fund - as he was entitled to by the company pension rules - before the notifications were issued. This is a clear indication of the company’s ethos, which the current staff will have to confront to protect their pay.
Last year the company didn’t pay a Christmas bonus; nor will they do so this year. The proposed 12.5% pay cut is on top of this. If the court rules in the company's favour it is likely the staff will be balloted over strike action. The feeling on the shop floor is militant.
A version of this article appears in the print edition of Socialist Worker No. 307
Read also these recent articles on Easons:
Nov 19, 2009: Eason faces staff action over pay cuts
Nov 08, 2009: Eason faces staff action over pay cuts
