The sit in by staff at the Paris Bakery in Dublin was entering its second week as this bulletin went to press. Earlier hopes of a resolution this week were not realised.
The occupation of the Dublin shop and restaurant was prompted by the owners’ failure to pay over €50,000 in owed wages, although this figure is rising as more employees come forward with complaints of non-payment.
In a statement yesterday (Thursday) the workers said their employers were refusing to pay wages owed for months of work, and also refusing to declare the company insolvent. “The response from the public has been amazing. Our Facebook page is approaching 4,000 likes and MEPs, Moore Street traders, TDs, former customers and local businesses have all expressed their support for us in person and online. Almost 3,000 people have signed our petition,” they said. You can add your support HERE.
Last weekend ICTU president John Douglas joined the workers for two nights of the occupation and IMPACT was represented at a protest outside the shop last Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has demanded that the Government immediately close the legal loophole that allows employers to leave workers unpaid when a business runs into difficulty. Its general secretary David Begg said: “We’ve been here before and will be again unless this legal loophole is closed and employers are obliged to honour their commitments and pay employees what they are due. The situation in Paris Bakery is history repeating itself. We’ve seen it in Vita Cortex, La Senza, HMV, Game, Thomas Cook and Connolly Shoes over the last number of years. Workers should not be forced to take this action to get what they are due.”
In 2012, ICTU made a submission to the Government outlining how the legal loophole could be closed.
