Workers made redundant by Penneys need to be supported, says Senator

Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews has criticised a recent decision by Penneys parent company, Primark, to make 100 of their Dublin staff redundant as part of a plan to outsource jobs to cheaper labour markets abroad. 

Speaking yesterday in the Seanad, Senator Andrews said:

“This decision was not taken out of necessity, but out of a desire to maximise the profits for the bosses and the shareholders.

“They are not a company that is struggling and have been expanding exponentially across Europe, North America, and Asia.

“Penneys made record profits last year as a result of the hard work of its underpaid staff, and now many of those workers from across Dublin find themselves unemployed and left on the streets.

“It is very disappointing that an Irish company would do this to their own workers and would be so callous about their careers and lives.

“Unfortunately, this is not a new development in Ireland.

“The reality of a globalised economy is that corporations can pick up and move operations wherever they have the lowest labour costs, and the Irish state offers very few protections to workers left behind by overseas outsourcing.

“It is very important that these workers made redundant are supported by the state, and that they are not abandoned like the Debenhams workers who bravely fought for their rights for over 400 days.

“Workers’ rights and employment protections have been severely neglected by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

“The Minister for Social Protection needs to take this issue seriously and follow through with his commitments to support these unemployed workers.”