THERE ARE fears over 24 jobs at Tesco Wexford after it was revealed that the company is seeking to alter contracts or offer redundancy in cases where this is not accepted by the staff.
It is understood that as many as 24 workers at the Distillery Road premises were made aware of changes to their employment structure last week but it is not clear if the changes will include changes of contracts or redundancy.
The dispute has arisen over those workers who are on pre-1996 contracts. The company is seeking to alter these contracts in order to bring them in to line with those offered after that date.
700 of the company’s longest-serving workers accepted offers of redundancy last week but about 300 others do not want to take up redundancy and are attempting to fight the changes through their union.
The 1,000 staff members had previously voted for strike action but subsequently 70% of the workers opted for redundancy.
The Tesco workers are represented by Mandate who say they have been inundated with calls from workers at the company who, they say, have been told that those employed before 1996 would experience pay cuts of up to 35% and have their rosters and hours changed on May 16 if they didn’t accept a redundancy package.
Gerry Light, Mandate Assistant General Secretary said: “They’re telling workers who have been with them for more than 20 years that unless they accept a redundancy package, they will have their conditions of employment changed without agreement.”
He added that Tesco management had been invited by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to engage in talks on April 25 and while the union accepted, the company subsequently refused to attend until May 2: “Clearly the reason for this is to create more time in order to sow seeds of confusion and heap more pressure on their workers to leave.”
He said: “This type of behaviour is something you’d expect from a schoolyard bully, not from one of the most profitable multi-national retailers in the world. To leave your employees with such uncertainty over their future is reprehensible and management should hang their heads in shame.”
These, he said, were people who were trying to feed their families and put a roof over their heads, and had given 20 years and in some cases 40 years to the company only to now be treated with disrespect.
Mr. Light said: “We’re calling on Tesco to take some responsibility and show some decency towards their staff who have helped build this company to what it is today. Our members have had enough of management’s despicable treatment and if Tesco think they can treat their longest serving staff like this, then we’d have some serious concerns as to how they will attempt to treat the rest of their workers in the future.”
