ICTU president John Douglas has welcomed a Revenue Commissioners’ decision to formally wind up the Paris Bakery company. The move means workers there, who are owed large sums in unpaid wages, get access to the state insolvency fund.

A 19-day sit-in at the popular Moore Street café and bakery in Dublin ended on Tuesday after the Revenue decision was announced.

The Paris Bakery workers are owed over €100,000 in back wages and had called on the Government to intervene after the owners repeatedly refused to engage with them.

Mr Douglas said the Revenue decision gave the workers some long-overdue redress. “They deserve great credit for their resolve and courage throughout this dispute. “We have a fix for today’s problem, but not tomorrow’s issue," he said.

ICTU has demanded that the Government immediately close the legal loophole that allows employers to leave workers unpaid when a business runs into difficulty. Mr Douglas said the loophole was the sole cause of the Paris Bakery problem. In 2012, ICTU made a submission to the Government outlining how the legal loophole could be closed.

Migrant Rights Centre Ireland director Edel McGinley expressed delight that the workers could finally get on with their lives. “The current situation is clearly not good for workers, but it’s also not good for businesses. It’s bad for suppliers, who have to write off debts, it’s bad for wholesale customers left without supplies, and it’s bad for other small businesses who are undercut by rogue traders. The Government needs to act and change the law,” she said.