Tipperary Sinn Fein Representatives have condemned the behaviour of management at food retailer Iceland. The company appointed an examiner due to it’s current financial position and the store in Clonmel did not open yesterday while most of it’s other stores traded. Staff received notice at 9pm on Tuesday night that their jobs may be temporarily terminated. The company’s main creditor is it’s owner. The company is thought to be financially viable.
Sinn Féin is asking the office of Corporate Enforcement Authority to investigate if company law has been breached. A new company took over the Irish Franchise for the Iceland stores earlier this year and Sinn Fein alleges that there have been significant and sustained allegations of poor management, lack of communication and staff not getting paid fully in a timely manner.
Sinn are also seeking clarity regarding the company ownership. The new owner is reported as being Project Point Technologies, whose director is Naeem Maniar. Mr Maniar previously owned Iceland’s Ireland franchise until an examiner was appointed by the High Court in 2015. The company’s situation is to be reviewed by the High Court again in two weeks’ time. The Examinership process is a legal mechanism that prevents any creditor taking legal action to obtain payment for a short period of time while the business owners work to resolve trading, capital or staffing issues.
Meanwhile The Independent Workers’ Union is calling on the management of Metron Stores Limited, the franchisee of Iceland in Ireland, to honour guarantees made to the workers in its stores and to put an end to what it calls “ its cowboy tactics of unannounced store closures and terminations without notice.”
