Connollies shoes no more.

Run_to_da_hills

I was passing lower Georges St this morning and noticed that both shops were closed for good with shelving cleared. A press notice on the window from management claiming it was shut due to picketers. The notice was ammended by picketers stating that it was not true.

The place did not look too healty over the last few years and I would say it would be down to just being too old fashioned.

The last time I was there myself was probably with my mam buying back to school shoes.

Ron DMC

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The last time I was there myself was probably with my mam buying back to school shoes.

Same here, I guess maybe it's because they've lost all their customers to sports shops and the likes of Office, Aldo etc, that they had to close.

Pity really, there's another Dun Laoghaire institution we can strike off the list.

SerialComplaint

See http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115743625122574 for the full story

Run_to_da_hills

Ron DMC wrote: »

Same here, I guess maybe it's because they've lost all their customers to sports shops and the likes of Office, Aldo etc, that they had to close.

Pity really, there's another Dun Laoghaire institution we can strike off the list.

I just hope Georges St dosen't end up like the shopping center with so many vacant premisis.

mehmeh12

What will be the end result of all the recent closures in dun L? can we expect more crime/druggies/undesirables moving in?

Tabnabs

I don't know the ins and outs of the disagreement so can't pass judgement, but it does strike me that all the staff have now lost their jobs as a result of the picket and the town has lost two more shops.

SerialComplaint

Dyflin wrote: »

I don't know the ins and outs of the disagreement so can't pass judgement, but it does strike me that all the staff have now lost their jobs as a result of the picket

You just have passed judgement, by blaming the picket for the loss of jobs.

Morlar

Well Done Union !! nicely played.

Tabnabs

Not really, it was more of a statement of fact. I don't lay the blame at the picketers per say. Their actions had consequences, as did the employers. No judgement on my part, I'm well ensconced on the fence

jclare56

Surely it is the responsibilty of the management to talk to the unions about the matters relating to the strike and not let it get to the stage of closing the shop. They had a valid reason for the strike and it could have been sorted out by entering negotiations with union and the shop could have stayed open! Personally I think that is a shame that the shop has closed, but more so that the management have let the situation get this far.

Run_to_da_hills

Who will gain or loose out of this?.

With the shop closed due to lack of business those remaining will only get statutory. Any cash that was left in the kitty would have been used up keeping the place barely surviving over the last year.

Morlar

jclare56 wrote: »

Surely it is the responsibilty of the management

'If only management had caved in to union demands they could have kept their business open'.

That's not the way it works. It may have failed of it's own accord eventually but the union caused this to happen - not the management.

jclare56

If only the management had followed the legislation and not made two staff members redundant with no redundancy payments or notice. They had many years over the minimum required to qualify for statutory redunancy and it was what they were entitled to. The management were asked many times to enter into negotiations with the union, and Eamon Gilmore himself offered to be the mediator in the case. The union did not run the shop out of business, the management did by not following the proper legislation and industrial relations mechanisms.

The union was only demanding what the employees were entitled to, notice of redundancy and then statutory redundancy payments.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/unemployment-and-redundancy/redundancy/redundancy-payments

Ghost Train

If management wouldn't even give staff their basic entitlements then probably better they're gone.

Sofa King Great

jclare56 wrote: »

If only the management had followed the legislation and not made two staff members redundant with no redundancy payments or notice. They had many years over the minimum required to qualify for statutory redunancy and it was what they were entitled to. The management were asked many times to enter into negotiations with the union, and Eamon Gilmore himself offered to be the mediator in the case. The union did not run the shop out of business, the management did by not following the proper legislation and industrial relations mechanisms.

The union was only demanding what the employees were entitled to, notice of redundancy and then statutory redundancy payments.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/unemployment-and-redundancy/redundancy/redundancy-payments

So now they don't get any redundancy and either do any of their co workers... Good Work.
Why didn't they take it to the labour relation commission or whatever the equivalent is for minor disputes

Jessie Tuggles

I know nothing about the strike so won't comment but D.L main street is deteriorating every month.

Mind you the same could be said for lots of main streets and shopping ctrs around this banana republic.

Ghost Train

Sofa King Great wrote: »

So now they don't get any redundancy and either do any of their co workers... Good Work.
Why didn't they take it to the labour relation commission or whatever the equivalent is for minor disputes

apparently they did

Been found guilty of breaches of the Payment of Wages Act, but have refused to pay the compensation awarded to staff;

from here (in the notes)
http://www.mandate.ie/News/Divisions/186/4/bray-town-offers-support-for-the-connollys-shoes-strikers.aspx

Run_to_da_hills

Jessie Tuggles wrote: »

I know nothing about the strike so won't comment but D.L main street is deteriorating every month.

Mind you the same could be said for lots of main streets and shopping ctrs around this banana republic.

Dunlaoghaire is getting very much like Glasgow or Manchester was during the 80ies with vacant premisis everywhere. There is now far too many shops in the area for the amount of people that now go there. On top of that we have a practically zero tourist traffiic since Airports took over the ferries, those that now come by ferry want to drive out of the town as fast as possible.

The only slight tourist burst will be during the festival of a thousand Cultures which only lasts a weekend and no doub't we will get a taste of "rip off Ireland".

Anyone on the Dole or pension will now travel to Lidl to do their grocery (And appliance) shopping rather than go to Dunlaoghaire. Those that want variety will go to the larger centers like Dundrum.

Dunlaoghaire is still on its high horse as regard taking out a commercial lease and at the way it is going it wont be long before we have tumbleweed on Georges St.

mehmeh12

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Dunlaoghaire is getting very much like Glasgow or Manchester was during the 80ies with vacant premisis everywhere. There is now far too many shops in the area for the amount of people that now go there. On top of that we have a practically zero tourist traffiic since Airports took over the ferries, those that now come by ferry want to drive out of the town as fast as possible.

The only slight tourist burst will be during the festival of a thousand Cultures which only lasts a weekend and no doub't we will get a taste of "rip off Ireland".

Anyone on the Dole or pension will now travel to Lidl to do their grocery (And appliance) shopping rather than go to Dunlaoghaire. Those that want variety will go to the larger centers like Dundrum.

Dunlaoghaire is still on its high horse as regard taking out a commercial lease and at the way it is going it wont be long before we have tumbleweed on Georges St.

In fairness its only the larger chains like tesco and dunnes that i go to dun l for.

What do you buy from lidl> i find the fruit and veg okish but not really anything else...

Morlar

Ghost Train wrote: »

from here (in the notes)
http://www.mandate.ie/News/Divisions/186/4/bray-town-offers-support-for-the-connollys-shoes-strikers.aspx

Your quoting from a union source - guaranteed to be onesided and misleading.

If Connolly's had done anything illegal I am sure they would be in court at the moment facing an unfair dismissal case or something along those lines.

SerialComplaint

Sofa King Great wrote: »

So now they don't get any redundancy and either do any of their co workers... Good Work.
Why didn't they take it to the labour relation commission or whatever the equivalent is for minor disputes

The owners refused to attend the LRC.

Morlar wrote: »

If Connolly's had done anything illegal I am sure they would be in court at the moment facing an unfair dismissal case or something along those lines.

Your naivety is quite touching. Thanks for giving me a laugh on a Friday afternoon.

Now that the owners have closed the business, they will evade any attempt for them to be called to justice.

Morlar

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Your naivety is quite touching. Thanks for giving me a laugh on a Friday afternoon.

You are welcome ! We will see how the evil Mr Burns fares in the courts then comrade.

Of course IF there is no court case for unfair dismissal etc then this shall be because they have evaded justice - rather than any other reason such as having no case to answer eh ?

CatFromHue

i have to say its a shame they are gone

i would have bought alot of my shoes there, and would have bought another pair last month but i wouldnt cross the picket.

-Chris-

I'm sorry to hear that this business owner has lost their business, and that these employees have lost their jobs, and I was completely aware of any pickets when I read the thread title but...

I'm completely and utterly unsurprised that they have closed down. Dun Laoghaire is dying as a retail centre and I'm not sure what can be done about it. The shops there need to revamp if they're to compete with the likes of Dundrum or Dublin City Centre.

I've always lived close to Dun Laoghaire, it's easily the closest major shopping area to me, but if I was shopping for a pair of shoes it wouldn't have even have crossed my mind to travel to Connolly's.

The reality is I've gotten used to a different shopping experience. If I were looking for books I probably wouldn't have thought to go to Eason's on George's St, but I quite like Eason's in the Pavillion.

I'll go to Argos (because that's something that's consistent and that's the same everywhere), but most of the shops get no more than a cursory glance as I pass because they strike me as places that have limited selection and not enough stock turnover to make sure they have the latest and greatest stuff. I bought a lot of stuff in Music City when it was open. I loved the fact it had later hours than the rest of the shops. I don't feel like Golden Discs offers anything like the variety or value (or personality) of Music City.

There's something very "small village" about a lot of the shops, to their detriment. Until they reinvest and reinvigorate the shopping experience, more shops will continue to close, but the paradox is that footfall has dropped to a level where reinvesting is an impossibility for most of the shops in DL.

My €0.02

ScouseMouse

I hope mandate are going to financially support all of the staff let go. They wont have much chance of anything else at the moment.

Rallies? Pickets? Facebook pages? You can stand up and shout for whatever you want but you may not get it.

I am sure there are two sides to every story.

dyl10

From my perspective, the picket was justified.
Some of the staff on strike had been with the shop over 40 years, I guess it was a sad way for it to end.

RayM

Morlar wrote: »

Your quoting from a union source - guaranteed to be onesided and misleading.

Can you point towards any actual inaccuracies (and indeed, evidence thereof) contained in that source?

Perhaps your judgement is too clouded by dislike/irrational hatred of trade unions for you to even accept the possibility that the former staff of Connolly's (people who had worked for that company for up to four decades) could have had the slightest trace of an iota of a jot of a scintilla of right on their side? Is it not utterly bizarre that such a small business should ever have found itself embroiled in a major and prolonged dispute with people who, between them, had given over 100 years of loyal and trouble-free service? Given their lengthy service to the company, is it not baffling that their employer should dismiss them as 'malcontents'? I don't know about you, but I've yet to see any evidence that the management of Connolly's haven't behaved pretty shamefully.

Anyhow... sad to see it go. Even back in the '80s and '90s, when I was dragged into Connolly's every August to get measured-up for new school shoes, the shop seemed very quaint and old-fashioned. I seem to remember a birdcage in the corner, with some very noisy budgies.

Morlar

RayM wrote: »

Perhaps your judgement is too clouded by,....

I'd recommend you read the signs posted by the owners in the windows of what used to be their business.

RayM

Morlar wrote: »

I'd recommend you read the signs posted by the owners in the windows of what used to be their business.

I'll ask you again...

Can you point towards any specific inaccuracies contained in the source which you so readily dismissed earlier in this thread?

Morlar

RayM wrote: »

I'll ask you again...

You can ask away.

You posted a link to a Mandate union website -

I pointed this fact out in terms of it's utter lack of neutrality on this issue.


If you would like to argue their neutrality on this issue - by all means fire away.

There ARE differences between what the former employers said of this dispute and what the likes of the union involved have had to say about it.

I would suggest in order for you to obtain a more balanced outlook on this issue you take a wander down to the site of the former shop and read the other side of the story.

RayM

Morlar wrote: »

You can ask away.

You posted a link to a Mandate union website -

I pointed this fact out in terms of it's utter lack of neutrality on this issue.


If you would like to argue their neutrality on this issue - by all means fire away.

There ARE differences between what the former employers said of this dispute and what the likes of the union involved have had to say about it.

I would suggest in order for you to obtain a more balanced outlook on this issue you take a wander down to the site of the former shop and read the other side of the story.

I didn't post the link to the Mandate website.

Regardless (and for the third time...), can you point towards any specific inaccuracies contained in that article?