Strike action is set to take place at approximately 70 Tesco Ireland stores this Thursday, after what has been described as a 'breakdown in talks' between trade union Mandate and the retailer.
The strike action follows discussions between the two parties over changes in the working conditions of around 300 longstanding employees (out of Tesco's 14,500 workforce in Ireland). The affected employees are on contracts dating back to before 1996, when Tesco re-entered the Irish market with the takeover of Powers Supermarkets.
“To say to a group of workers ‘we’re cutting your pay by up to 25 percent and we don’t have to give you evidence or justify those cuts’ is a shameful way to treat workers who have built the company to what it is over more than twenty years," said Mandate Assistant General Secretary Gerry Light.
"For us, and our members, the situation is very clear. Tesco are attempting to increase already significant profits at the expense of their longest serving workers.”
In response, Tesco Ireland said that it was 'extremely disappointed' with the union's stance.
"Extensive discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission over several weeks, including 18 hours yesterday, have failed to deliver progress on agreeing compensation for making this change to our pre-1996/97 contract that affect c.300 out of our 14,500 workforce," a Tesco spokesperson said.
"In the spirit of compromise, Tesco yesterday tabled new proposals at the WRC that address the feedback received from our colleagues in relation to the pre-1996/97 contract changes. We are disappointed that Mandate has rejected these proposals without giving their members the opportunity to vote. We have revised this offer further and we believe that colleagues should now have time to consider our new offer.
"We are proposing these changes in order to improve our customer service at our busiest times of the week. They will also deliver a fairer workplace."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
