Staff in two separate branches of HMV in Limerick are staging a sit-in in protest against unpaid wages. About a dozen workers have refused to leave the HMV store in Crescent Shopping Centre in Limerick since yesterday afternoon after it was revealed that the Irish operation of HMV has followed suit with its UK counterpart and gone into receivership.
14 members of the Cruises Street branch, also in Limerick, are also staging a similar protest.
Staff have intimated that they intend to continue with the sit-ins until unpaid wages are made available to them. It is understood that many HMV staff members are owed Christmas wages and holiday pay.
Limerick's HMV staff have said that they will not return the keys to the store until their wages are paid in full.
Meanwhile, Deloitte has been appointed as HMV's receivers. A spokesperson for them today told RTE that they intend to communicate with Ireland's 300 HMV staff as to the viability of the company and address any issues regarding unpaid wages.
This is bad news for anyone still holding HMV vouchers as they have now officially been rendered worthless. It's worth noting, however, that if the vouchers were bought with a credit or debit card a refund is possible through a process called 'chargeback'. Talk to your card issuer about this.
We'll have more on this as the story develops.
