LONDON-- A shopworkers union says that an employment tribunal has awarded nearly 68 million pounds (over $100 million) in compensation to 24,000 former Woolworths employees.
The Usdaw union said Friday that it had won the compensation after successfully arguing that the bankrupt retailer's administrators broke the law by failing to consult with the union before firing its employees. The money amounts to 60 days' pay for each worker.
Woolworths closed all of its 800 British outlets in 2009 after being unable to find a buyer for the business.
The first British Woolworths store opened in 1909 under the FW Woolworths brand -- a subsidiary of the U.S. company.
The British retail company outlasted its original U.S. parent, which closed its final Woolworths stores in 1997.
