Iceland Ireland went into liquidation yesterday. Every Iceland shop closed, some with less than an hours’ notice. All jobs are now gone for all employees. Workers are still owed pay months after raising the issues and now have to wait on the state.
The law won’t prioritise the workers needs. Workers spotted the problems in March got organised and started to fight back brilliantly, in the press, and in unions. They went the distance with an employer who was determined obstruct every effort to them getting their pay. The ownership was restructured, and then in June, Iceland went into examinership. Yesterday courts decided to wind up the business. The court-appointed examiner is now the court-appointed liquidator.
The role has changed from trying to save the business as a going concern into trying to sell all its physical assets at the best price to pay the company’s debts to its creditors. The company’s premises were rented. The most valuable assets might be the floor length freezers and Iceland UK have first rights on those. Among the biggest debts are those owed to Naeem Maniar, himself the instigator of the one-euro buyout this February, which signalled Iceland’s meltdown.
In reality the biggest profit making part of Iceland was its workers. Since the crisis they showed tremendous fight under the Independent Workers Union. IWU showed what a fighting union can help workers to do. IWU’s statement on the liquidation is here. The workers are still owed money.
Workers went on strike in Coolock and later Ballyfermot. They gained long-running national media attention. Staged an overnight occupation. Talbot Street workers organised occupation. It’s been running over 70 days.
They have shown how trade unions can and must use all their powers to back workers. The fight shows we need to change Ireland’s skewed laws around business closures which leave workers last and allows the businesses off the hook and the state on the hook for missing pay.
Workers should have been looked after in the shop with a union at the beginning- all workers should actively be looking after each other and all employers should recognise unions. But there isn’t a law.
The state should be responsive to allegations of wage theft. If an employee had misplaced thousands of euro action would have been taken. The law is wrong.
Workers put the most number of hours into any business. They often have the least ability to manage alternative incomes. Their livelihoods are more tied the business: most workers can’t sit at two tills like a board member can sit on two boards of directors, or an investor can hold multiple portfolios and properties, or a supplier can have hundreds of clients. We depend our jobs and our employers depend on us. Workers must come first.
Shame on Iceland for dumping their workers and shame on the government parties blocking proposed workers rights bills, for example the Debenhams Bill.
Representatives from the IWU have said they will continue the occupation at Talbot Street for as long as possible despite the liquidation. Our TDs have all visited the workers there and our members and activists have consistently prioritised their support in Dublin. Our City Centre Branch was leafleting to promote Coolock rep Andrew Keegan’s fundraiser even last night when the news broke.
Bernard Mulvany has visited the Talbot Street store nearly everyday: his social media feed is the go to place for info on the fight. Ballyfermot’s Strike day had all day support from Bríd Smith’s office. Dublin Bay North branch was there with strikers from before the first action putting on meetings in Darndale. Where workers fight we’ll be there with them and the IWU has proved themselves to be a fighting union.
What’s next is a Pub Quiz Fundraiser for the IWU members who unionised, and those who struck and occupied. It’s at 7pm in Molloy’s Talbot St D1. To make a donation, click here.
People Before Profit supports the workers. We need better laws for workers and more unionised organised fighting workers who stand up for each other against Ireland’s bad bosses and broken labour laws. We need organised fighting workers to lead a fight for real revolution in workers’ rights.
