17th November 2022
Re: Imposition of car parking charges on low paid retail workers in Liffey Valley
Dear Mandate Member,
Please see below a copy of correspondence sent to your employer regarding the above-mentioned matter, the contents of which are self-explanatory.
We will keep you informed of any further developments.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned or my secretary Rebecca on 0874417934 or email dublinnorth@mandate.ie
Yours fraternally
Ken Reilly
Industrial Officer Organiser
Ms Sandra Buckley
Head of HR
Dunnes Stores
46-50 South Great Georges Street
Dublin 2
KR/LF
14 November 2022
Dear Ms Buckley
Following on from correspondence sent to Dunnes Stores on 25th of October 2022 in relation to the imposition of car parking charges on low paid retail workers in Liffey Valley, we are again writing to Dunnes Stores requesting a meeting with Senior Management. As stated in our previous communication, since the introduction of these charges, a number of political parties, customers and the workers of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre have engaged in friendly protests with massive shows of public support.
Our members, your employees, have been hit with an additional levy on attending the workplace with the introduction of these charges, which could see workers forced to pay out up to €3600 per annum if they cannot secure a space in the designated staff area. There would never be an acceptable time for this to be imposed, but in this instance the timing could not have been any worse given the global economic situation.
It is the case that Mandate Trade Union has negotiated pay rises with many employers, some of whom are anchor tenants in Liffey Valley. The consequence of these actions is that those pay rises are being effectively eradicated through the parking charges. We will have no option but to take these additional costs into consideration when next we discuss Cost of Living increases for our members with their respective employers.
On 23rd October 2022, the Centre Management of Liffey Valley are quoted in a press release to the Irish Times as saying, “Staff members with any residual concerns about the new arrangements are being urged to engage directly with their employers on the matter.” It is still the case that the Centre Management have refused to discuss the matter with the workers, or their Mandate representatives despite several calls and opportunities to do so.
As you can appreciate, all of the above is causing huge amounts of stress and anxiety for workers impacted by the charges and heightened by the current cost of living crises.
In order to expedite the resolution of this situation and relieve the concerns and anxiety caused by the introduction of these charges on low paid workers and given the statement by the Centre Management on 23rd October, the undersigned are requesting a meeting with Dunnes Stores Senior Management to discuss how we can work collaboratively in this dispute and bring about a resolution as soon as possible for those workers affected by the unilateral changes introduced by Hines and the Centre Management.
Yours fraternally,
On Behalf of The Liffey Valley Workers
Ken Reilly
Industrial Officer Organiser