Galway Bay fm newsroom - Debenhams workers in Galway will continue their protest this afternoon despite a potential redundancy deal which is being negotiated by liquidator KPMG and Mandate Trade Union.
More than 1,000 Debenhams workers in 11 stores across the Republic were notified that they’d lost their jobs in April after the company sought to enter liquidation.
Approximately 140 jobs were lost in Galway with the closure of the Eyre Street outlet.
Mandate Trade Union says it has negotiated a potential resolution to the Debenhams dispute with full details on the finalised deal to be made available early next week.
It's understood that under the deal, €1m would be split between the workers under the terms of the agreement, and a third of profits on the sale of stock would be ring-fenced for them.
The staff would also be prioritised for 300 new jobs which will be created at three of the former Debenhams stores which a new leaseholder is expected to take control of.
However, shop stewards are calling on Mandate Trade Union to reject this offer.
They estimate that under the current proposal, full time staff with 20 years service would receive just under 2-thousand euro while a part time worker with 18 years service would receive 550 euro.
They also say that plans to rehire staff in three of the Debenhams stores are not adequate - arguing that workers would not be rehired on former terms and conditions and would most likely be paid minimum wage despite their many years of service.
Workers at the Eyre Street store in Galway will hold a rally this afternoon from 12.
It marks their 150th day of strikes.
