Budget Travel Company News

Budget Tells Sacked Staff To Leave Without Any Pay Offs

23 October 2009: Budget Travel began closing 14 shops throughout the country today amid angry scenes with staff being told they would not get their redundancy cheques.

The staff-at stores in Tralee and Athlone-were told they would have to leave without a penny after they refused to sign forms allowing the company to claim 60% of the redundancy payments back from the state.

Legal advice from their union-the TSSA-was that they should only sign the forms after their redundancy cheques had cleared their bank account next week.

As the row raged on, managers cleared the shops of computers and office equipment. They moved into other stores this afternoon.

"Budget Travel are acting like cowboy employers," said Gerry Doherty, union general secretary.

"They aren't even paying any redundancy money to 20 staff who have worked for them for less than two years and now they are throwing the remaining 55 staff out of the shops today without their statutory payments either.

"They are simply bullying a female workforce and it should not be tolerated.

"Budget is part of a profitable Swedish owned travel group which turned over 850 million euros last year. They should be ashamed of themselves."

The shops closing today are in Athlone, Clonmel, Cork, Dundalk, Ennis, Finglas, Liffey Street, Limerick, Mullingar, Northside, Swords, Tralee, Walkinstown, Waterford.

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