A DISPUTE between travel agency Thomas Cook and 60 staff from its two recently closed Dublin offices over redundancy payments has been settled after workers accepted a deal agreed at the Labour Relations Commission.
The revised package was agreed by company management and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association in 10 hours of talks at the LRC on Wednesday.
Former staff of the company yesterday accepted the deal, which provides for five weeks’ wages for every year of service, as well as an ex gratia payment based on the length of time each worker was employed by the travel agency.
The initial offer was five weeks’ pay for each year of service and one month’s salary. The union was seeking a deal that included eight weeks’ pay for each year of service.
The agreement follows protests by TSSA members which culminated this month in a sit-in at the company’s offices on Grafton Street, Dublin.
Talks on the new redundancy deal began when the staff agreed to abide by a High Court order that they vacate the outlet.
TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said he was pleased that the dispute had ended with an improved redundancy offer.
“I am extremely proud of our members at Thomas Cook who secured a better deal by their determination to stand up for their rights against a multi-national company.”
However, Thomas Cook said the amount of money that was to be paid out to its former staff remained the same as what had initially been offered.
“We have agreed to honour our previous offer and we are pleased that the TSSA have accepted this,” said Thomas Cook’s chief executive of mainstream travel Pete Constanti.
“However, we remain extremely disappointed by the recent illegal actions and behaviour of staff and the TSSA union, especially given that the resulting redundancy package is the same financially as the one offered to staff prior to this action.”
Mr Doherty said analysis of the new redundancy package by the union indicated it would be at an “increased cost to the company”.
“It didn’t meet our aspirations but it was a better deal than what was on the table initially.”
The agreement brings an end to a bitter dispute during which 30 people were arrested, a High Court order was served and a staff member went into labour while taking part in the sit-in.
The company announced that it was going to close the shops making all staff redundant from the end of August, but then moved the date forward to July 31st, sparking the sit-in.
The five-day protest ended with gardaí entering the premises after the union members refused to obey a High Court order that they vacate the office, and arresting 27 staff and three politicians who later appeared in court.
One of the arrested women, Avril Boyne, was taken directly from the protest to hospital where she gave birth to a girl that day.
The High Court decided not to impose sentences or fines because it was an exceptional case, paving the way for the negotiations which concluded yesterday.
Thomas Cook was the oldest travel agency in the State, having been operating here for 125 years. The company still employs some 70 people at a call centre and back-office facility in Parkwest, Dublin.
