Workers at Tesco Ireland have been on strike following the announcement that the company is refusing to pay the National Wage Agreement to its workers and have threatened senior staff with with the sack if they do not agree to work under new contractual terms.

Workers in the Douglas Tesco's in Cork went on strike at the end of April to protest about the proposed changes to their contracts, which would effectively mean being laid off and then rehired under tighter controls. The move would affect workers in 21 stores throughout Ireland and according to their union, Mandate, tesco is breaching its agreement with them, including a National Replacement Store Agreement.

Following the strikes, Tesco officials agreed to engage in conciliatory talks with workers following an invitation from the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The strikes precede a further announcement by Tesco last week that 11 of its stores on the border with the North of Ireland will source more of its products from the UK, in a further attempt cut costs.

Tesco is the world's third-largest grocery retailer and Tesco Ireland is currently the largest food retailer in Ireland, operating in 112 stores across the country. In the last tax year the company announced that it had made 3.1 billion pounds in profit.

The General Secretary of the League has written to the CEO of Tesco Ireland and copied the letter to Ireland's Financial Ombudsman Service to express its concerns.

"Tony Keohane Chief Executive Tesco Ireland

Dear Tony Keohane

Treatment of Tesco workers in the Republic of Ireland

I am writing on behalf of the Celtic League to express our disappointment at proposals by Tesco to reduce the earnings of its workers in Republic of Ireland (RoI) by giving them new contracts.

In view of the ₤3.1 billion profits that Tesco announced that it had made in the last tax year, it seems incredible that the company is refusing to pay the National Wage Agreement to its workers, cutting workers hours below those agreed to in contracts and suspending premium payments for workers including the late night, overtime and early morning supplements, in 21 of its stores in the RoI.

We were however encouraged to learn that the company has engaged in conciliation talks with its workers, but we remain concerned that a big multinational company with such high profit margins like Tesco, should choose to engage in such employment practices in the first place. We look forward to a speedy settlement between workers and the company that is acceptable for all.

In addition to this news, we are also concerned that Tesco stores on the border with the North of Ireland will source more of its products in the future from the UK than from Ireland, in an attempt to further reduce costs. We believe that in today's current economic climate, Tesco should be showing its support for local produce and the people from the communities where its stores are based, rather than importing goods from elsewhere in the world.

Yours sincerely

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary Celtic League"

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

11/05/09

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