hmv staff in limerick occupy store, demand unpaid wages

[ed miliband]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21059204

they've also taken over the official social media pages for their store, for example:

https://www.facebook.com/HmvCruisesStreetLimerick

of course, it isn't the limerick soviet of 1919, but best of luck to them. spent a lot of time in that store over the years, actually the place i bought my first current 93 album, so it holds a special place in my heart.

here's hoping it spreads.

[skitty]

It would be great if they could carry on with business-as-usual and show everyone it can be done without bosses. I'm thinking of the documentary "The Take".

[ed miliband]

It would be great if they could carry on with business-as-usual and show everyone it can be done without bosses. I'm thinking of the documentary "The Take".

not really (with all due respect). it would be impossible for them to stand alone like that, and it wouldn't be desirable -- they'd still have to operate within the logic of capitalism, "co-operative" or not. best case scenario is they get what they are due, take what they want from the leftover stock, and leave with a profound sense of, i guess, class power.

[skitty]

I know, wishful thinking!

[Art Vandelay]

Good luck to them, hopefully they get what they deserve and more.

[crazyirish93]

Sit in is over,they got written confirmation that there wages and overtime will be paid.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0119/hmv-workers-end-sit-in-after-pay-assurances.html

[BOZG]

Sit in is over,they got written confirmation that there wages and overtime will be paid.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0119/hmv-workers-end-sit-in-after-pay-assurances.html

They were told that if they didn't end the occupations, staff in the non-occupied stores would not be paid either. The receiver Deloitte has also basically said that they will not be getting redundancy or holiday pay from HMV - they can go and take that up with Social Welfare.

[crazyirish93]

wheres that info from ?

[red flag over teeside]

Any action taken by workers such as the HMV occupations should be welcomed as it proves that as workers we don't have to rely on the go ahead from the unions. Of course the weakness is that it's difficult to spread the action so that it becomes the foundation of some sort of general workers assemblies.

On the question of the individual shops working as normal the reality is that workers co operatives have never sustained themselves outside of the capitalist dynamics. In the North East of England during the early 1870's there was a co operative movement which saught to exclude capitalists which never worked. The same is true today in fact it's even more true given the depth of the global capitaist crisis.

[BOZG]

wheres that info from ?

From comrades who've been intervening.

[Art Vandelay]

So basically the workers were pressured into ending their sit in, without getting all of their demands?

[BOZG]

That's how I understand it though I get the feeling that the reason that there was no demands around redundancy is that they assumed they would get it. They probably still will but it's a much more tedious process to get it through the state as they need to prove that HMV is unable to pay first.