Iceland workers stage protest at Coolock shop after being informed of redundancy

Workers at the Iceland shop in Coolock are staging a protest after appearing at work this morning and being told they had been made redundant.

Karen Keating, a worker at the Iceland shop in question, said that she arrived at the shop this morning to begin her shift only to be told she has been made redundant via email.

Speaking to Dublin People, Keating said “we didn’t receive any prior notice about this prior to the shift starting,” and she claimed that she was willing to stay in the shop for “as long as it takes” until the dispute is solved along with two other co-workers.

Keating claimed that the dispute over pay has been ongoing since February, claiming that emails to HR have gone unanswered and there has been a lack of clarity over her position.

“We were told to contact HR to raise any issues we had, but our emails went unanswered,” she claimed.

She said she wanted her hours honoured and her backpay issued as a condition of solving the dispute.

Keating said she had the backing of her union, the Independent Workers Union, in her dispute.

On Tuesday evening, the High Court appointed an interim examiner to the company that operates the Iceland chain of retail stores in Ireland amid financial difficulties at the company.

The court heard that Metron Stores Limited, the company that owned the chain of stores, is insolvent and unable to pay estimated debts of €36 million.

Terrible situation at Iceland Coolock, workers locked out of their jobs with no notice pic.twitter.com/LQq3sZPEMU

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Labour Dublin Bay North TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called on Minister Simon Coveney to call Iceland to heel following the “disgraceful” treatment of workers.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin said “a ridiculous situation has occurred at Iceland stores across Dublin – workers have been treated absolutely disgracefully by the company and it’s time for Minister Coveney to step up and get clarity for these workers.”

“The business has gone into examinership and the store has effectively closed, but staff have not been told.”

“They turned up for work this morning only to be told they have no jobs. This is an absolutely crazy scenario.”

“My understanding is that Iceland stores across Dublin have been shuttered without any explanation to workers including shops on Talbot Street and Coolock. Minister Coveney needs to urgently find a pathway to consultation with these workers to ensure that they are not out of pocket in terms of wages owed and any potential redundancy payments they may be entitled to.

“This is absolutely no way to treat workers,” he added.