Tesco is to attend a 'conciliation conference' at the Workplace Relations Commission, following a vote on Friday by Mandate Trade Union workers in favour of industrial action.
Close to 1,000 Mandate members in Tesco Ireland voted emphatically in favour of industrial action, by a margin of 99%.
Mandate said that it 'believes the ballot result sends a strong message to Tesco that they cannot simply cut wages or conditions of employment for their workers without agreement'.
It welcomed Tesco's decision to attend the WRC meeting, but said that it 'must be with the intention to genuinely engage'.
Gerry Light, Mandate Trade Union Assistant General Secretary commented, “We’ve now served notice on the company that our members intend to strike in the event the company proceeds with their plans to cut wages or alter the contracts of employment without agreement.”
He added, “It’s a pity it took until the declaration of our ballot before the company accepted the invitation to attend the WRC, especially when you consider we wrote to the company more than a month ago. It seems the company was waiting for the result of the ballot before they agreed to engage, but better late than never.”
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
