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Irish bookseller Eason & Son has given up on its attempt to impose a 12.5% pay cut on its 1,500 employees, but an Irish union representing Eason staff is still pressing to have the Christmas bonus reinstated.
The Bookseller reported two weeks ago that the chain’s plan to cut wages had been resisted by staff, with the Irish Labour Court called in to resolve the dispute. The company stopped paying its Christmas bonus—understood to be worth one week’s pay—last year.
An Eason spokesperson said: "At a recent Labour Court hearing the company requested that the Court agree to defer the matter and the company has therefore formally withdrawn from its pursuit of pay cuts. The unions,however, continue to pursue the reinstatement of the annual Christmas bonus through the Labour Court." Eason said that it made its decision at the end of October.
Irish trade union SIPTU (the Services, Industrial, Professional & Technical Union) was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press. Noel Maguire, branch organiser at the union, had previously called the pay cut plans, "at least unimaginative management and at worst bordering on the immoral".
Eason employs about 1,500 staff across 38 stores in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Eason made a loss of €26.3m (£23.6m) for the year to 29th January 2009, on sales of €248.4m (£222.5m).
One employee told The Bookseller: "As far as anyone I’ve spoken to is concerned they had pretty much written that off [Christmas bonus] and are just happy not to face a wage cut."