Mandate workers at Dunnes Stores' Terryland branch in Galway will start industrial action next Monday. The national executive of the union served notice of the strike to the company yesterday.
The move follows a vote, taken in a secret ballot, by the union's 200 members at the branch in favour of industrial action. The union accuses the company of breaching the Labour Court's Code of Practice for Employee Representatives by refusing to confirm whether shop stewards may attend a disciplinary hearing on behalf of a suspended store employee.
The hearing arises after the employee tasted a pasta salad in an area where food was being prepared. She had been asked to taste the salad by a customer, to see if contained garlic. She was suspended on March 30th.
Some 174 of the union's members at Terryland were already suspended for unofficial action in support of their colleague.
Dunnes Stores has accused the union of failing to provide leadership to end the dispute, saying the unofficial action would only be ended when senior union officials involved themselves on the ground.
A statement from Dunnes last week said: "Any company must question the value of entering into agreements with a union which cannot ensure compliance with agreed procedures."
Members had been refusing to abandon their unofficial pickets, though the union asked them to return to work last week, which they did.
Mr Owen Nulty, general secretary of Mandate, said the issue of representation was a "fundamental principle". "Since the dispute began we have sought a clear statement from the company that they would be prepared to allow the Mandate member in this store to be represented by the people of her choosing."
He said that if Dunnes indicated that the employee would be allowed union representation at the hearing, the proposed industrial action would be called off.
