Liffey Valley workers protest new fees at staff car park

Workers at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre held a protest on Sunday over the introduction of fees for the staff car park.

Organisers of the protest say the charges will amount to losing a week's pay annually.

Gino Kenny, People Before Profit TD for Dublin Mid-West, said that charging staff for parking at their own workplace is ''completely unfair".

"I'm supporting the workers, in relation to the imposition of staff car parking charges, by Liffey Valley.

"Those charges were introduced last Monday, they are extremely unfair, they have been brought in without any consultation with unions and the workers themselves.

"In some cases, workers will be paying north of €600 per year," Mr Kenny said.

He concluded that the fees should be scrapped.

Out supporting workers at Liffey Valley shopping centre.

The imposition of car parking charges is an effective pay cut.

If they want to discourage car use, they should play for public transport tickets. pic.twitter.com/HCeRtVpeDo

— Paul Murphy 🏳️‍⚧️ (@paulmurphy_TD) October 23, 2022

On Sunday, management of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre released a statement claiming that the new parking system was "working positively" since its introduction.

The statement re-iterated that the €2.50 charge per hour also applied to staff parking.

"Staff parking facilities are available in pre-designated areas of the Centre for €2.50 per trip," the statement read. "Sign-up by Staff for the discounted rate of €2.50 per trip has been in line with the projected registration rate envisaged for this group."

"Staff members with any residual concerns about the new arrangements are being urged to engage directly with their employers on the matter," the statement added.

Management maintained that the charges were necessary to delivery an "enhanced customer experience" at the shopping centre.