So more than 5,000 Dunnes Stores workers went on strike for a day last week to protest against low-hour contracts. What was that all about? Dunnes probably uses more low-hour contracts than any other employer: more than half of its 9,000 staff are guaranteed just 15 hours' work a week. They may be called in for more hours as business ebbs and flows.
So Dunnes isn't using zero-hour contracts? Correct. Such contracts are banned by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
That's good, right? And don't low-hour contracts give both sides flexibility? They certainly give flexibility to employers, which can chop and change their labour use as they need. But the way Dunnes and some other companies use them means staff may as well be on zero-hour contracts, according to Mandate, the main union representing the workers.
How so? Workers must be available for up to 37½ hours, so cannot take on second jobs. But they do not know from week to week what their actual hours will be. It means they often cannot plan childcare or personal appointments, among other things. Financially, it means their wages can fluctuate by more than €100 a week. And, worse, social-welfare rules mean most cannot sign on for a proportionate jobseeker's payment, as their work is spread over more than three days a week. Nor can they claim family income supplement, as they must work at least 19 hours a week before they can be considered eligible for this, and they are guaranteed only 15. The low-hour contracts also make it very hard to get loans or mortgages, as their income cannot be guaranteed.
That might be okay for college students' summer jobs, but what about grown men and women with families? What they are looking for sounds reasonable Everything Dunnes Stores is doing is perfectly legal. It does not have to talk to Mandate or Siptu, the workers' other main union, and is entitled to use these low-hour contracts. But staff allege that Dunnes cuts and increases hours to favour some workers and victimise others.
What can the Government do? It is coming under increased pressure to enact legislation to give groups of workers collective bargaining rights. Tánaiste Joan Burton has told the Dáil that this will happen before the summer recess. It could also implement the EU directive on part-time working to protect staff against the worst effects of low-hour contracts. In the meantime the Government has appointed a team from Kemmy business school, at the University of Limerick, to examine the prevalence and impact of low-hour contracts, and it has promised to act if the review finds employees are being exploited. That process could take well over a year, given the need to put the report out for consultation and to take legal advice before changing the law. Until then Dunnes workers and thousands of others on similar contracts can only battle their employers alone.
