Dunnes workers to strike

BoatMad

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Correction.... Aldi's profit for 2013 in the UK & Ireland market was 3.7%.

A bit better alright.

(Revenue: €6,750m vs profit: €253m)

thats net profit after taxes etc, a very contrived figure as any good accountant can tell you

most multiples work of around 40-50% gross margin , i.e. what you see is the input price doubled. I know this for a fact, chemists are on about 200% margin on ethical drugs for example

BoatMad

Mongfinder General wrote: »

Dunnes and Tesco's number is up. Lidl and Aldi are slowly building their base in Ireland and will continue to take market share.

A Wal Mart type structure entering the market will finish the fcukers off H Williams style. And good riddance too. Bunch of robbing dirt birds.

tesco are big enough to have options, Dunnes are in a difficult position squeezed out of the low end, Aldi and Lidl will never take these segments however, they do not stock sufficient range of produce.

im not sure what a one-day strike will achieve , seems rather pointless

gowley

BoatMad wrote: »

thats net profit after taxes etc, a very contrived figure as any good accountant can tell you

most multiples work of around 40-50% gross margin , i.e. what you see is the input price doubled. I know this for a fact, chemists are on about 200% margin on ethical drugs for example

Anyone who deals with the multiples knows this. that's the problem on this site. You have people claiming ridiculous figures with no fact to back up.

holyhead

The unpredictable nature of hours offered from week to week does seem very unfair. Yes Dunnes are giving employment and at its basic level that constitutes an exchange of labour for wages. Yes workers are not at gunpoint forced to sign up for such terms and conditions but everybody has to start somewhere. Can't see a strike achieving a whole lot. Dunnes dont wilt easily and there will always be the "ah sure you have a job" brigade.
The bigger issue is that because of the high cost of living here the value of wages is low. Higher wages can often only end up increasing the cost of living etc.

BoatMad

holyhead wrote: »

The unpredictable nature of hours offered from week to week does seem very unfair. Yes Dunnes are giving employment and at its basic level that constitutes an exchange of labour for wages. Yes workers are not at gunpoint forced to sign up for such terms and conditions but everybody has to start somewhere. Can't see a strike achieving a whole lot. Dunnes dont wilt easily and there will always be the "ah sure you have a job" brigade.
The bigger issue is that because of the high cost of living here the value of wages is low. Higher wages can often only end up increasing the cost of living etc.

The demands on the modern retail business, to succeed in a very competitive environment, long opening hours, increased responsiveness tends to drive in work practices like we see , such as low hours contracts and low paid ( in certain areas). we cant have it both ways, you cant have sunday opening, long or 24 hour opening etc and then have a aggressively competitive environment , without having the work practices we have, This is no different in any part of the developed world.

there is no evidence of a particular set of high costs of living and low wages in Ireland, Ireland remains around the median and lower then mist when taxes are taken into account
Theres no easy answer.

road_high

BoatMad wrote: »

tesco are big enough to have options, Dunnes are in a difficult position squeezed out of the low end, Aldi and Lidl will never take these segments however, they do not stock sufficient range of produce.

im not sure what a one-day strike will achieve , seems rather pointless

Very worst thing about Dunnes. Dire range of products, especially fresh owned branded stuff. Tesco and Super Valu lick them hollow. Also very sporadic I find with things either gone or out of stock a lot. Reckon they just couldn't bother or else all suppliers have just ditched them as not worth the hassle. Notoriously hard to deal with and bad payers.

Mongfinder General

gowley wrote: »

Lol. Ignorance is bliss. Do you honestly think Wal Mart pay big wages to staff. Ask the Asda staff in the UK when they were taken over H Williams were ultimately taken over by Tesco. Wal Mart staff went on strike in June last year because of low wages.

Where did I say that Wal Mart paid big wages?

As for making assumptions regarding my intelligence quotient based on a pseudonym's posts on boards.ie, well that shows the very limited bounds of your intellect. Looking at your posts, (I could only stomach a few, they're that turgid in stating the fcuking obvious) they add little value to an argument. However, I do think you'd do well in a suit in Dunnes Stores.

I think that the choices our stores bring are limited in the extreme and the variety offered to the public could be greatly increased and provided at a price that reflects value. This requires a value chain and supply chain that utilizes the buyers power, ie a major corporation, hopefully with some ethics.

I'm probably looking at a ban for attacking the poster as well as the post but fcuk it anyway

end of the road

Head The Wall wrote: »

The union are complaining that people on low hour contracts cannot get mortgages, there is a reason why that is the case and I don't think it's a justifiable reason to be going on strike.

well, the staff think it is, so therefore it is

Head The Wall wrote: »

Yes if they are on low hour contracts but to try and connect it to not getting a mortgage is real bleeding heart lies from the union

is it? well, the union has to do what it can. fair play to the lot of them

Head The Wall wrote: »

It's a job in a supermarket we are discussing here, they have always been associated with part time and temporary work.

not in this manner.

Head The Wall wrote: »

It's irrelevant if people always need to buy stuff in a supermarket or not.

its not irrelevant at all.

Head The Wall wrote: »

Dunnes are free to decide how to run their business.

actually, they aren't. nobody is "free" to decide how they run things, there are limits to everything

Head The Wall wrote: »

These people decided to sign 15 hour contracts and now want to change that by bullying via the union.

re-read what was said. its not bullying at all, the members and the union see an issue that is unjust and tried everything to solve it with no result, therefore they have taken the final option of striking which they are right to do. the days of the little peasant worker knowing their place and being greatful cowering at the feat of the boss is long gone

end of the road

Eric Cartman wrote: »

treating retail work as a permanent mortgage paying job or a job for life is just lunacy. Dunnes, like all supermarkets should be treated as a stepping stone in your career, not the end of it (unless you progress to management) the second somebody with 1 day less retail experience than you gets promoted to management, then its time to call it quits and find something else.

these people are striking like dunnes is their only avenue. I will be breaking the picket when they do strike as a show of solidarity with struggling business owners who get shafted by unions and insane demands every day of the week.

and hopefully you are blocked and prevented from doing so if you even try it, which you won't. you won't be crossing any picket i can tell you that for sure, because people like you never do. its just all nonsense. no struggling or no business owners get shafted by unions and insane demands at all. you won't be showing solidarity with anyone as you don't even know the meaning of the word, you will be showing contempt for those who keep such businesses running, the staff.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

I respect everyone working , but if your in a crap job move, lifes too short, there are jobs out there if you have skills. Dunnes provides employment with set terms, if you don't like them don't work there. It perfectly suits a lot of students and people getting on the career ladder.

Expecting dunnes to bail you out because you can't get another job is just a fruitless exercise.

not at all, if they don't suit, force a change. nobody is being "bailed out" its calling for better terms and conditions, something those of you living in the old days of the peasant worker being greatful and cowering at the employers feat wouldn't understand anything about

end of the road

Valetta wrote: »

Healthy competition.

not at all. eroding workers rights and conditions until they can get to as near slave labour as legally possible

kub wrote: »

So a relative of mine works in Dunnes and is going out on the picket line. That person was in work today and was called into a meeting or more of a threatening speech by the shop management aka The Pawns.

They have said:

1. They would reduce the hours of anyone who strikes.
2. They will not acknowledge Mandate.
3. They will not change working hour arrangements.
4. They won't give pay rises.
5. That the staff protesting are risking their own jobs.
6. There would be bad blood the following day......interesting remark that actually as the following day is Good Friday.

So my relative has used that wonderful term......the stuff that comes out the back of a bull.......

But Dunnes are being traditional anyway, still an absolute shower to work for.

well, the staff need to make sure that if any bully boy tactics are caried out by management, that the management are put back in their place very quick and hard

Deleted User wrote: »

I work in dunnes. I'll have no problem whatsoever passing the picket. I'll take all the hours I can get.

again, hopefully the picket will be in such a way one can't pass it

gowley wrote: »

Dunnes employ 14,000 odd staff in ireland. That's a fair chunk and many seem to be there for years. A huge irish business success with big competition from foreign chains.. Don't know the facts about the strike but there seems to be a lot more workers not going on strike. Pity the unions won't adress public sector waste instead of the private business populist targets

the unions call out public sector waste all the time

Eric Cartman

end of the road wrote: »

and hopefully you are blocked and prevented from doing so if you even try it, which you won't. you won't be crossing any picket i can tell you that for sure, because people like you never do. its just all nonsense. no struggling or no business owners get shafted by unions and insane demands at all. you won't be showing solidarity with anyone as you don't even know the meaning of the word, you will be showing contempt for those who keep such businesses running, the staff.

Ill even come on here the day of the strike and post a picture of my receipt. Dunnes will get my money that day.

not at all, if they don't suit, force a change. nobody is being "bailed out" its calling for better terms and conditions, something those of you living in the old days of the peasant worker being greatful and cowering at the employers feat wouldn't understand anything about

force a change, are you serious. Dunnes will have you out on your ear by the days end. you'd be more likely to solve israel palestine.

end of the road

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Ill even come on here the day of the strike and post a picture of my receipt. Dunnes will get my money that day.

force a change, are you serious. Dunnes will have you out on your ear by the days end. you'd be more likely to solve israel palestine.

no, the workers could blockade them if they tried to have them out on their ear, its what i would expect

sarumite

end of the road wrote: »

not at all. eroding workers rights and conditions until they can get to as near slave labour as legally possible

How close to slave labour can you get legally? If the legal minimum is 'near slave labour' then the problem is political and the unions need to be blaming the government and not employers.

end of the road

sarumite wrote: »

How close to slave labour can you get legally? If the legal minimum is 'near slave labour' then the problem is political and the unions need to be blaming the government and not employers.

they have been and are blaming the government as well as the employers taking advantage

nice_guy80

Aldi and Lidl are not owned by shareholders, so are not driven to deliver big margins

The families behind the to German brands are happy to take modest returns off a large turnover, knowing they work their staff to the bone, squeeze every efficiency out of their buying, delivery and supply network.

I'm still amazed that Dunnes have the second biggest market share in Ireland after Supervalu.
I would have expected Sainsburys, Asda or another large UK multiple to come in wih some large stores, seeing as so much Irish food gets exported to the UK

PopePalpatine

Eric Cartman wrote: »

It's people like you who convince me a totally unfettered free market is a terrible idea.

BOHtox

Not G.R wrote: »

Jesus some of the posts in this thread. Low paid workers looking for the hours they actually work in writing and guaranteed week to week & to be treated a little fairer. Anyone passing this picket should be really proud of themselves.

I work in Dunnes too. I'm leaving in a few weeks though. I've worked there the last few years and I'm hoping to get a higher paid job in the summer. Do you think I'd get my foot in the door anywhere if the only place I've ever worked won't give me a reference? Since I started working there, there have been 2 or 3 unscheduled pay increases, and scheduled ones too, new uniforms, better working conditions etc. I myself too have managed to negotiate working conditions by constructively talking to the managers in the shop, albeit not pay related directly, but related to my hours and days

If they say jobs are at risk for anyone who strikes and I'm left unemployed do you think I'm ever going to get a job?
Interviewer: "Where were you working the last few years?"
Me: "Eh in Dunnes... blah blah blah"
Interviewer: "And do you have a reference from your HR there?"
Me: "Eh no... I'll have a nice day, thank you"

Eric Cartman

PopePalpatine wrote: »

It's people like you who convince me a totally unfettered free market is a terrible idea.

its a terrible idea for lazy and workshy people, its a fantastic idea for those with ambition and good work ethic.

Sheldons Brain

Eric Cartman wrote: »

its a terrible idea for lazy and workshy people, its a fantastic idea for those with ambition and good work ethic.

This strike is not about workshy people, it is about people who want to work but who would like some predictability in when they will work.

Meanwhile the real workshy sit on the dole, getting almost as much, and have complete predictability in their lives.

Brendan Bendar

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

This strike is not about workshy people, it is about people who want to work but who would like some predictability in when they will work.

Meanwhile the real workshy sit on the dole, getting almost as much, and have complete predictability in their lives.

Good point there mate

Eric Cartman

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

This strike is not about workshy people, it is about people who want to work but who would like some predictability in when they will work.

Meanwhile the real workshy sit on the dole, getting almost as much, and have complete predictability in their lives.

My post above was a bit off topic in response to pope palpetine , I am under no circumstances calling dunnes workers workshy , they have a job which they go to for all their hours which is more than can be said for the free money brigade.

We have a two fold problem in this scenario which you have touched upon . 1) the rediculous rates of welfare that the Irish government pay out, which sets the price floor on a lot of goods and drives up inflation, also it makes work seem unattractive.



2) Dunnes stores cannot deliver goods at an affordable price and still turn a profit if it meets the employees demands , everyone here has to remember that dunnes isnt a nonprofit, their only job is to make money , and they need staff in a shop , having regularity and a "living wage" is just impossible in current market conditions

sdanseo

Eric Cartman wrote: »

My post above was a bit off topic in response to pope palpetine , I am under no circumstances calling dunnes workers workshy , they have a job which they go to for all their hours which is more than can be said for the free money brigade.

We have a two fold problem in this scenario which you have touched upon . 1) the rediculous rates of welfare that the Irish government pay out, which sets the price floor on a lot of goods and drives up inflation, also it makes work seem unattractive.



2) Dunnes stores cannot deliver goods at an affordable price and still turn a profit if it meets the employees demands , everyone here has to remember that dunnes isnt a nonprofit, their only job is to make money , and they need staff in a shop , having regularity and a "living wage" is just impossible in current market conditions

I disagree, as would anyone who has worked in an area like Sales in a company with a relatively good reputation.

It is perfectly possible to turn a profit in an area with modest margin whilst also treating your staff generously and delivering an excellent experience to customers, especially in a company the size of Dunnes who can benefit from economies of scale. Why? Because staff who are treated well become invested in their company even in jobs at the lowest levels of the pecking order, and will inevitably deliver more in the long run in terms of productivity and even insight into how improvements can be made.

Unfortunately, Dunnes don't believe in this, and if an employee tried to pass an insight or suggestion up the chain they'd probably be fired for insubordination.

There's free market and there's a sensible way of operating a business. They are not one and the same.

Eric Cartman

sdanseo wrote: »

I disagree, as would anyone who has worked in an area like Sales in a company with a relatively good reputation.

It is perfectly possible to turn a profit in an area with modest margin whilst also treating your staff generously and delivering an excellent experience to customers, especially in a company the size of Dunnes who can benefit from economies of scale. Why?Because staff who are treated well become invested in their company even in jobs at the lowest levels of the pecking order, and will inevitably deliver more in the long run in terms of productivity and even insight into how improvements can be made.

Unfortunately, Dunnes don't believe in this, and if an employee tried to pass an insight or suggestion up the chain they'd probably be fired for insubordination.

There's free market and there's a sensible way of operating a business. They are not one and the same.

I think theres two ways of running a business, as a them and us (management vs staff) or as a team, the most successful companies run as a team where everybody understands their place but nobody is looked down on. Id agree that dunnes probably hasnt been functioning as a team .

However bringing in a union and strike tactics to resolve an issue is cementing the "them and us" scenario forever more. its like bringing in the school bully to sort out a playground disagreement, everyone loses.

You also have to remember that supervisors, the person who does your rosters and all the others below corporate all started like you. Leave out the pay rates and sit down with them to agree a more suitable schedule.

cerastes

Head The Wall wrote: »

It's a job in a supermarket we are discussing here, they have always been associated with part time and temporary work. It's irrelevant if people always need to buy stuff in a supermarket or not. Dunnes are free to decide how to run their business.

These people decided to sign 15 hour contracts and now want to change that by bullying via the union.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

treating retail work as a permanent mortgage paying job or a job for life is just lunacy. Dunnes, like all supermarkets should be treated as a stepping stone in your career, not the end of it (unless you progress to management) the second somebody with 1 day less retail experience than you gets promoted to management, then its time to call it quits and find something else.

these people are striking like dunnes is their only avenue. I will be breaking the picket when they do strike as a show of solidarity with struggling business owners who get shafted by unions and insane demands every day of the week.

You are talking nonsense, as another poster said. Some of these people have families, even those that don't would need some predictability in their lives if they want to treat Dunne's as a stepping stone, how do you suggest someone improves themselves if they are on a wage such that it limits their progression? Or certainty of working hours so they could even do a course that might lead to progression?
I understand that Dunne's is a business and needs to operate in a way that it can compete, but there is a certain minimum way in which you can deal with people/staff.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

I respect everyone working , but if your in a crap job move, lifes too short, there are jobs out there if you have skills. Dunnes provides employment with set terms, if you don't like them don't work there. It perfectly suits a lot of students and people getting on the career ladder.

Expecting dunnes to bail you out because you can't get another job is just a fruitless exercise.

Are there plenty of jobs? See above about acquiring skills when you have no certainty in your working conditions!

Eric Cartman wrote: »

if that was the level of my skill set , yes , the value of my labour is currently a lot higher than that and I am in demand so don't need to. But if in the morning I had no work , then yes I would do any position for money.

you have to remember that till workers have been automated, 4 till lanes cost approx 125,000 euro to install, thats 31250 per till , 85 euro per day for a year, 7.80 an hour (11 hours a day , 364 days a year) and after that its paid for itself. Dunnes could buy new automated tills every single year and still make money over the rates they currently pay staff. When in reality these machines last 5-7 years with very little maintenance. One human can look after 6 or even 8 self service lanes.

As much as I am interested in automation, there are limits to what I want it to do, so I don't mind if my heating is controlled but putting people out of work for a task easily done by people. The self serve tills are a job such a machine can do well, but what else can it do? whereas people are much more adaptable and at lower costs than machines.
I avoid those self serve tills unless its absolutely essential, which it rarely is.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

you will go far with an attitude like that. Best of luck mate and if you get any evil eyes or negative comments I'm sure management will be very helpful in removing those responsible.



if dunnes went ahead with all these demands they'd only be able to afford about 10,000 staff. The people protesting don't realise that 15 hours for them can't be afforded unless somebody else gets 0.

No one he seems to be demanding more hours is it, its the certainty of hours,which seems like Dunne's or any shop of this sort would know when the demand is, people are creatures of habit and I suspect the shopping habits of people fit a very routine and predictable pattern.

sdanseo

Eric Cartman wrote: »

I think theres two ways of running a business, as a them and us (management vs staff) or as a team, the most successful companies run as a team where everybody understands their place but nobody is looked down on. Id agree that dunnes probably hasnt been functioning as a team .

However bringing in a union and strike tactics to resolve an issue is cementing the "them and us" scenario forever more. its like bringing in the school bully to sort out a playground disagreement, everyone loses.

You also have to remember that supervisors, the person who does your rosters and all the others below corporate all started like you. Leave out the pay rates and sit down with them to agree a more suitable schedule.

I don't necessarily agree that strikes do much for the staff in the long run either. Sure, the top brass might compromise on a few things to get them back to work, but more likely as was mentioned above, there will just be bad blood the next day and relations become even more strained.

What Dunnes need to do as a company is engage with their staff and be willing to bend a little to gain a lot. The fact that some companies can't see this as being a very mild sacrifice in the long term really annoys me.

There's also the argument that although the grocery market is competitive here, Dunnes have local monopolies in many of their locations - I can think of two or three within 15 minutes of me which have no competition within a km or so. Funny enough, these tend to be the most run-down stores in the poorest conditions, and here's why:

people (sheep, or those who can't travel further for whatever reason) living locally will continue to stream through the doors to buy in these situations, and that's something which will make management in those places simply cease to care about how much customer service they give. At the end of the day, in these cases, the staff suffer poor conditions, and the customers ultimately suffer terrible service. I recently worked near one of the branches I mentioned and although it pained me to go near the place, in the space of a lunch hour, there were almost no alternatives.

(I always swore blind when I no longer worked nearby I'd throw a mickey fit in the place, oddly it turns out I have more self control than that :P )

Eric Cartman

cerastes wrote: »

As much as I am interested in automation, there are limits to what I want it to do, so I don't mind if my heating is controlled but putting people out of work for a task easily done by people. The self serve tills are a job such a machine can do well, but what else can it do? whereas people are much more adaptable and at lower costs than machines.
I avoid those self serve tills unless its absolutely essential, which it rarely is.

The easiest way in this world to make money is to come up with an idea of how to replace people with machines. Machines are always cheaper, more reliable and repeat every task with the accuracy and results of the first. 90% automated supermarkets will be here within my lifetime. http://mentalfloss.com/article/58570/remembering-keedoozle-americas-first-fully-automated-grocery-store keedoozle was the first proof of concept in 1949 , its been worked on an awful lot since then.

No one he seems to be demanding more hours is it, its the certainty of hours,which seems like Dunne's or any shop of this sort would know when the demand is, people are creatures of habit and I suspect the shopping habits of people fit a very routine and predictable pattern.

if the day is suddenly very sunny more people buy icecream , if a new construction project opens deli counter sales go up , graduation day , Leaving cert finished day , - alcohol and snack food sales go up. The amount of variables in shopping habbits are so wide that predicting it is hard to do . if you expect 500 customers in a day and suddenly 2000 show up , what are you to do, leave really long queues and spills in aisles because "the roster says that those people arent in today" or call some staff.

and on the flipside to that , you get 20 staff in on a day and not a single person walks through the door, and you cant explain it, should all 20 of those people sit around doing almost nothing all day just because the roster says ?

cerastes

BOHtox wrote: »

I work in Dunnes too. I'm leaving in a few weeks though. I've worked there the last few years and I'm hoping to get a higher paid job in the summer. Do you think I'd get my foot in the door anywhere if the only place I've ever worked won't give me a reference? Since I started working there, there have been 2 or 3 unscheduled pay increases, and scheduled ones too, new uniforms, better working conditions etc. I myself too have managed to negotiate working conditions by constructively talking to the managers in the shop, albeit not pay related directly, but related to my hours and days

If they say jobs are at risk for anyone who strikes and I'm left unemployed do you think I'm ever going to get a job?
Interviewer: "Where were you working the last few years?"
Me: "Eh in Dunnes... blah blah blah"
Interviewer: "And do you have a reference from your HR there?"
Me: "Eh no... I'll have a nice day, thank you"

Eric Cartman wrote: »

The easiest way in this world to make money is to come up with an idea of how to replace people with machines. Machines are always cheaper, more reliable and repeat every task with the accuracy and results of the first. 90% automated supermarkets will be here within my lifetime. http://mentalfloss.com/article/58570/remembering-keedoozle-americas-first-fully-automated-grocery-store keedoozle was the first proof of concept in 1949 , its been worked on an awful lot since then.


if the day is suddenly very sunny more people buy icecream , if a new construction project opens deli counter sales go up , graduation day , Leaving cert finished day , - alcohol and snack food sales go up. The amount of variables in shopping habbits are so wide that predicting it is hard to do . if you expect 500 customers in a day and suddenly 2000 show up , what are you to do, leave really long queues and spills in aisles because "the roster says that those people arent in today" or call some staff.

and on the flipside to that , you get 20 staff in on a day and not a single person walks through the door, and you cant explain it, should all 20 of those people sit around doing almost nothing all day just because the roster says ?

That's part of predicting demand, you are saying that that can't be done, that enough staff wouldn't be willing to work extra or change their routine sometimes, or that a change in customer footfall of the order of multiples of the usual level would occur without being predicted based on previous similar conditions.

As for replacing people with machines completely or more so, right sure, machines are not always suited to tasks people can do better or visa versa, nether are machines necessarily cheaper, not complicated machines, people are adaptable and can work around problems, even simple things for us would require a kind of complexity and reliabilty in machines it will take a long time to equate to or replace what people can do.
Neither would people necessarily support it and other businesses not able to compete in a technical arms race could use it to increase their sales by pointing to supporting jobs.
Why don't aldi or lidl have automated tellers? Do you think a machine can process different transactions as rapidly or deal with problems by customers using a machine when coming up against some non standard or unrecognised product? The queues would be out the back door,

Sheldons Brain

Eric Cartman wrote: »

if the day is suddenly very sunny more people buy icecream , if a new construction project opens deli counter sales go up , graduation day , Leaving cert finished day , - alcohol and snack food sales go up. The amount of variables in shopping habbits are so wide that predicting it is hard to do .

Grocery shopping is not that variable. Construction projects are long term by nature, graduations, end of leaving cert (what has this to do with Dunnes?) are entirely predictable a year in advance.

My point is that proper management, aided by proper analytics, can greatly improve the scheduling of staff to everyone's benefit. Some of this is a wish by management not to have to bother managing because all of the flexibility falls on the staff.

Sheldons Brain

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

Grocery shopping is not that variable.

Retail is fickle. Sure you see certain people come in on the same day every week but by and large people shop around a hell of a lot more these days. You can't depend on people's business every week anymore.

BoatMad

I suspect the problem at Dunnes is more to do with the relationship issues then specifics . There are loads of businesses with low hour contracts , whose employees are not on strike