A Mayo TD is calling on Government to ensure that the jobs and entitlements of workers at Shaws department stores in Castlebar and Ballina are protected.
Provisional liquidators have been appointed to four companies that are part of the Arcadia Group - which holds a number of concessions in Shaws department stores including Wallis, Evans and Dorothy Perkins.
It's hoped to sell the Irish operations as part of the overall sale of the Arcadia Group, and the intent is that the shops will continue trading through Christmas under the provisional liquidators, to maximise the value of winter fashion stock.
If the jobs cannot be saved, the monies secured from the sale of this stock should be ring-fenced for a decent redundancy package for workers - according to Mayo Sinn Fein TD Rose Conway-Walsh.
There are 487 people employed in Arcadia Group stores in Ireland - about 50 of these employed in Mayo - and Deputy Conway-Walsh says these workers must be a priority for Government.
