Open Letter to An Taoiseach

An Taoiseach,

This article was featured in the Autumn 2020 edition of Rupture. Purchase the latest edition of Rupture here

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis in Ireland, retail workers have been among those on the front lines putting themselves at risk  to ensure the population can access essential items like food and medicines. Retail workers in general receive very low pay and often precarious conditions, such as lack of job security and no guaranteed hours. So I must ask: now that we are finally recognised as essential, when are you going to pay us accordingly? You and members of your government have praised frontline workers as heroes, but what action have you taken? We don’t want empty compliments, we want you to take action to protect workers from low pay and unsafe conditions. 

There are many issues facing workers arising from this pandemic. In some workplaces, there are no safe social distancing protocols in place or protective screens and sufficient PPE. Are enough inspections being done to ensure workers safety? Employers and businesses need to be taken to task if they are not implementing appropriate safety measures to protect their staff. 

Also there seems to be a worrying trend of companies using the pandemic to lay off their workers with no notice and no proper redundancy payments, for example Debenhams. These companies have a duty of care to their staff and have been extremely negligent in this. Why are  you allowing them to get away with it? Big businesses seem to have more protection than workers. This is completely wrong. New legislation is needed to protect workers’ rights. Workers must have the right not only to join a trade union, but also to have that union recognised by their employer. Collective bargaining rights are needed to prevent employers abusing their authority over their staff. 

Your government has done nothing to advocate for or to benefit working people. The minimum wage must be raised; people cannot survive and pay for rent, childcare and food on such low wages. All employees should receive full sick pay. Many companies have very poor sick pay schemes or none at all. 

As a retail worker myself, I have found adjusting to working during the pandemic difficult. My colleagues and I have had to adapt to a whole new way of working in a very short time. We have experienced many worries and anxieties from the start of the lockdown, including access to PPE and social distancing measures. 

I have seen colleagues laid off temporarily by the company I work for. The company says they’ve been making losses but I believe they’re using Covid-19 as an excuse to lay off staff to try and maximise their profits. They can make the same amount of money with less staff and reduced opening hours, but they don’t care about the negative effects this has on staff. The same amount of work now has to be done in less time and with less staff, this endangers our physical and mental health. I believe they have laid people off unnecessarily. This is not just happening in my workplace, and I am concerned for all workers who are experiencing these problems. 

It is really upsetting to hear this patronising talk from politicians about how essential and valued retail workers are, because just saying it doesn’t mean anything particularly when the reality of what we are experiencing is so difficult. Many retailers like Dunnes, Tesco and Supervalu have reported increased sales in the last number of months, and it is us ordinary workers who are responsible for this. 

So why are we not being paid appropriately when our jobs are so important to the running of society? CEOs and top executives haven’t been on shop floors serving customers and stocking shelves. They haven’t had to worry about going to work, possibly becoming ill and potentially passing it on to a family member. Retail workers, healthcare workers and delivery drivers have kept this country going during this time and it's time it was actually recognised.

I have also experienced firsthand struggles over low pay, sick pay and trade union recognition. The company I work for to this day still refuses to recognise our trade union. We undertook industrial action, which led to some improvements in pay rates for some employees and a limited sick pay scheme. The argument that the company gave for not recognising our union was that if they did, they believed there would be constant strikes. That only indicates they know that when workers get organised we will fight for the wages and conditions we know we deserve. By saying there would be constant strikes, they’re basically admitting they don’t pay us enough. 

What I am finding hard to understand is how, when retail work has been deemed so essential during this time, is it seen as acceptable that retail workers are considered to be unskilled and receive some of the lowest pay of all sectors. These jobs are extremely demanding and difficult, and now more than ever. 

Ireland had one of the highest rates of low pay in the EU, but the 10th lowest labour costs, this does not make sense. Large retailers are making higher profits and paying low corporation taxes while their employees struggle to make ends meet. Ireland is one of the most expensive countries to live in with rising rents and childcare costs. Eight percent of workers in Ireland are on the minimum wage and many of these work in the retail, food and accommodation sectors which have been hit hard with job losses at this time. 

I suggest you take these points into consideration. It would be remiss of the new government to do nothing considering how these workers have kept essential services running throughout this pandemic. Think about how difficult it would be for you personally to live on minimum wage. It is unacceptable that so many are expected to survive on this. It’s time for retail workers’ service to society to be recognised in a tangible way, not with empty words. In short, the very least that your government can do is introduce legislation to raise the minimum wage, to make it mandatory for employers to have a sick pay scheme and recognise trade unions. These should not be huge requests but basic rights for people.

Regards

A really pissed off retail worker