End is brought to Dunnes Stores sit-in

May 1985

Dunnes Stores at Main Street in Wexford has opened for business again after an end was brought to the sit-in protest by fifty staff that lasted for more than five months.

The fifty staff involved in the protest that kept the store closed since January returned to work despite not succeeding in their original aim of securing a Christmas bonus payment. However, an IDATU spokesman said the workers are still ‘very pleased’ with the final outcome agreed with Dunnes Stores management.

‘ The dispute was settled with no loss of jobs,’ the union man pointed out.

Following the ending of the sit-in last Wednesday, the store re-opened on Thursday morning to a flood of customers who had queued outside from the early hours to avail of half-price bargains that had been announced for the re-opening.

Gardai were forced to step in to relieve the traffic snarl-up on the Main Street caused by pedestrians. Down on Crescent Quay, hundreds of shopppers also gathered to gain entry through the rear door of the store.

At first Dunnes management attemped to control the hysteria by limiting the numbers allowed inside, but obviously realsing that this was causing more problems than it was solving, they later allowed a free-for-all.

The result was chaos. As if the Third World War had just been declared, people raced through the store to grab as many bargains as they could. And with many clothes and hardware items at half price and less, there were some real deals to be had.

There were some casualties too. A number of people fainted in the crowd, and there were reports, though unconfirmed, that one woman suffered a broken arm in the crush.

The store opened again on Friday and Saturday, with bundles of new stock to rummage through, and by this time news of the sale had spread throughout the county so shoppers from outside town were flocking in too.

A Dunnes spokesman described the reaction to the sale as ‘phenomenal’.

Dunnes Stores has now closed again for renovations and re-stocking, and expects to re-open fully in about two weeks’ time.