GSE 12-20 Retail Update
02/November/2020
Description
At a recent meeting with management the union raised a number of issues on behalf of our members in the eir retail network.
Access to shops and emergency status
Members had raised a concern on the ‘emergency status’ of telecoms retail and in what circumstances they can or should turn away customers.
This is a challenging situation and turning away customers will require a certain amount of judgement, but the company have confirmed that standard customer care queries should not be dealt with in the shop and that casual browsing is no longer permitted under the current public health guidelines. The Covid Compliance Officer stationed at the entrance to the shop will have to apply discretion and while some customer queries will not be black and white, the company will support staff in their decision making.
Commission
The CWU also raised the issue of targets and commission. In the current climate where footfall is severely reduced the company has agreed to review the status of commission for the period of the lockdown. This will affect the period of the lockdown in October and most likely all of November.
Following these discussions, it was agreed that average commission will apply for the period of the lockdown i.e. the latter part of October and all of November (assuming the lockdown lasts that long).
Hopefully, this will help to put some minds at ease during this difficult time.
Flu Vaccine
The CWU noted that flu vaccines had not been made available to retail staff despite their front-line status which is disappointing. It now appears that vaccines are not available in pharmacies on foot of a HSE re-call for vaccines to be prioritised for health workers and other essential and high-risk groups. This matter will be pursued further by the Union at the National Health and Safety Committee.
The CWU continues to work with the company to address our members’ concerns and balance the need to keep shops open, provide a good service and most importantly, maintain a safe working environment. It should be noted that the hard done by the Lead Worker Reps in conjunction with the company has been essential to ensuring there have been no cases of Covid-19 contracted in the workplace in retail.