Eight more Tesco Ireland stores have joined the strike action over contract disputes happening across the country, bringing the total to 16.
Tesco Ireland had released a statement on Monday that it will continue to keep stores open during the strike, which started on 14 February.
Staff have been picketing outside stores with banners with phrases such as 'Fighting for decent jobs and fairness'.
However, Tesco said on Friday that it has been in touch with the Mandate Trade Union, after a union request for discussion.
The retailer said in a statement, 'Tesco has informed Mandate that the company is and always has been open to constructive dialogue with Mandate to reach a reasonable and fair resolution to the changes to pre-1996 terms and conditions.'
It reiterated its request that Mandate accept the Labour Court Recommendation.
Labour Court Recommendation
The strike initially resulted from Mandate's claim that Tesco Ireland was trying to push through changes to contracts without agreement for roughly 250 employees who were hired before 1996.
The matter had gone before the Labour Court, resulting in a recommendation released in November 2016. The proposed resolution would see the rate of pay protected (with 90% of affected workers seeing a pay rise, protection of two-thirds of guaranteed overtime, along with other concessions), or the offer of a voluntary redundancy, with an average payout of €105,000.
However, the union said the revamped contract would force some workers to receive pay cuts of 15%. The employees wish to maintain their pre-1996 contracts.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
