Dunnes Stores workers tell how they ended up on strike following a union instruction not to handle South African goods.
10 Dunnes Stores workers went on strike in 1984 when checkout girl Mary Manning was suspended for refusing to handle South African goods. Mary had been following a union instruction given to all members as part of the struggle against apartheid.
Doireann Ní Bhriain visited the picket on the Henry St branch of Dunnes Stores in Dublin in March 1985. In this report for ‘The Women’s Programme’, picketers Sandra Griffin, Theresa Mooney, Karen Gearon and Tommy Davies explain the background to the strike and how they were simply following a union instruction. Karen Gearon, the branch shop steward, says that Dunnes Stores intimidated other staff into backing down on the issue, but that there is a lot of ground support for the strikers.
The strike continued until April 1987, when South African goods were banned from Ireland.
Title: |
Dunnes Stores Strike |
Clip Duration: |
00:07:12 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
Dunnes Stores Workers Strike Against Apartheid |
Series Title: |
The Women's Programme |
Information: |
'The Women's Programme' was jointly presented by Marian Finucane and Doireann Ní Bhriain and was a weekly magazine programme run and presented entirely by women for women. Broadcast every Monday at 9.30pm on RTE 1, the first programme was aired on 24 October, 1983. The team behind the programme included Nuala O'Faolain who had previously worked on the 'Women Talking' series. Also involved in producing the show was Claire Duignan who was responsible for the 'Today Tonight' programmes on rape, divorce and child abuse. Duignan was also the original producer of 'Women Today' on RTE Radio 1. |
Local Keywords: |
Industrial disputes, Trade unionism, Apartheid, Dunnes strike, Dunnes Stores strike, Mary Manning, Sandra Griffin, Theresa Mooney, Karen Gearon, Tommy Davies |
Coverage: |
Ireland |
Topic: |
Society and Social Issues |
Contributor(s): |
Doireann Ní Bhriain (Presenter) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
First Broadcast Channel: |
RTÉ One |
Broadcast Date: |
22/03/1985 |
Production Year: |
1985 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
P99/00085 |
IPR Restrictions: |
Rights Reserved - Free Access |
Rights, Terms and Conditions: |
Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
Item Type: |
part/extract |
Colour: |
Colour |
Sound: |
Mono |
Aspect Ratio: |
4:3 |
Language: |
English (eng) |
Original Language: |
English (eng) |
