Newbridge screening for Debenhams dispute documentary
A screening of 406 Days: The Debenhams Picket Line, a documentary about the protest mounted by dismissed Debenhams Irish workers in 2020, will take place in the Riverbank Arts Centre on Friday 15 September, writes Brian Byrne. The film was made by Joe Lee, and won Best Irish Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival earlier this year.
Following receipt of a generic email on April 9 2020 telling them they were being made redundant, nearly 1,000 Irish Debenhams workers, most of them women, established and remained on picket lines for 406 days. Faced with a refusal to be paid even statutory redundancy by the company, which was closing all of its 11 stores in Ireland, the workers set up their pickets to forestall attempts by Debenhams liquidators KPMG to move stock from Debenhams stores and warehouses in Newbridge, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Dublin.
The documentary focuses on the former employees who faced down the company for over a year through winter weather, Covid, and numerous attempts to break their resolve, holding out for a fair recompense until the dispute wound down after 406 days. On occasions the Garda became involved when protestors lay down in front of trucks sent to collect goods. Eventually the picketers accepted a Government offer of a €3 million training and upskilling fund, after it had been decided that there was not enough stock remaining in Debenhams stores to pay their full demands of 2+2 collectively agreed redundancy payments.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session chaired by Newbridge-based Cllr Chris Pender.
406 Days: The Debenhams Picket Line will show at 8pm. Tickets are priced €7 (early bird) or €9 (on door) and can be booked through the Box Office, either in person or by telephone on 045 448327 Monday to Friday 9.30am-5pm (closed for lunch 2-2.30) and Saturday 10am-1pm. Tickets can also be booked 24/7 on www.riverbank.ie – Online tickets subject to €1 booking fee per ticket.
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