Dublin People - Relief as new owners reopen hotel

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Relief as new owners reopen hotel

Wednesday, 04 June 2008

THE Ballymun Plaza has reopened under a new operator just weeks after the hotel was suddenly closed down after the building’s owners took possession of the premises.
The closure back in April left up to 40 local workers without jobs.
However, it is now back up and running after a deal was struck with Travelodge hotel group and Egan Catering, resulting in many of the hotel’s former staff being reinstated.
According to SIPTU, the move is a victory in a month-long battle on behalf of the workers.
“The campaign to secure the livelihoods for many people saw several protests staged, a May Day rally in Ballymun which hundreds of locals attended and a petition which over 5,000 people signed,” said SIPTU organiser Miriam Hamilton.
“Workers not only fought for their right to return to work, but also for their right to work in decent jobs - jobs which can sustain a family and give back hope to their community.
“We will therefore be working with the new employers to ensure that we achieve the objective of not alone more jobs, but better jobs for Ballymun.”
Hazel Dempsey, a waitress at the hotel, said she was delighted and relieved to get her job back.
“It has been a tough five weeks,” she revealed.
“We didn’t know when or if we would ever return to work.”
She added: “A lot of families were able to breathe a sigh of relief over the last few days as one by one we won our jobs back. As each person goes back to work, we are one person closer to where we want to be.
“We have all stood by each other and fought together for our jobs and until the last person goes through the door, we will continue to pressure the new operators to do what is right.”
Former porter Sean Corcoran is one of the former staff members who remains unemployed.
“I was offered a job as a receptionist,” he told Northside People.
“That would have been a big step down in wages for me so I didn’t take what was offered.
“I think many of the staff got their jobs back apart from maybe five or six people.”
Local councillor Andrew Montague (Lab) welcomed the reopening of the hotel.
“I’m delighted that many of the staff have been re-employed and that the hotel has re-opened under a new operator so quickly,” he said.
Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL) also warmly welcomed the re-opening of the hotel.
“We hope the new hotel and its staff will be very successful in building up a good business that will attract local people and visitors,” said BRL managing director Ciarán Murray.
“Ballymun is the ideal location for travellers to stay if they have a very early flight the following morning or if they fly into Dublin late at night and want to stay somewhere close to the airport.”
Egan Hospitality confirmed their involvement in the hotel.
“We opened for business trading last Thursday under the name Metzo at the Plaza,” general manager Darryl Egan told Northside People.
“We have employed nine employees from the catering department of the previous hotel.
“We were never going to have a problem employing the former staff as everyone is entitled to a job.”
He added: “This was a great opportunity for us to expand our brand.”
When contacted, Travelodge declined to comment on their new venture.

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