Tesco calls on union to reconsider strikes after five more stores vote no

Tesco has called on Mandate to re-visit its strike strategy after five more stores voted against joining the picket.

There were six “supportive ballots” held on Wednesday night with all but one store voting against strike action. There are currently pickets on 16 stores, with six more set to go on strike from next Monday.

The strike centres around what the Mandate union says is an attempt by Tesco management to enforce contract changes which will see the wages of staff recruited before 1996 fall by more than 15 per cent.

Tesco has repeatedly denied this and says it needs to make changes to contracts to reflect an altered retail environment which now includes late-night and online shopping, as well as Sunday openings.

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It says only a very small number of staff will see contract changes and promised that they will not lose out financially.

In a statement, Tesco said that 23 stores, or more than of half the shops balloted, had “overwhelmingly refused to co-operate with the union’s strike”.

The company said there was “an onus now on Mandate to face up to the emphatic decisions by the majority of colleagues. It is incumbent on Mandate after tonight’s strike rejections to re-visit its strike plans.”

The spokeswoman said it was “incontrovertible that Mandate’s strike plan is not being endorsed, as is shown not just by the union’s overwhelming losses in ballots, but also by the increasing number of colleagues crossing picket lines to return to work, with a further increase today.”

The company said the union would have to "urgently reconsider its refusal to accept the Labour Court Recommendation and its undermining of the industrial relations processes at the company and of the State, including its use of a Labour Court intervention to try to strengthen its hand in ballots."

However, Mandate has said supportive ballots in other stores will continue next week and has said intense pressure by management on staff in voting stores was having an impact on outcome of the ballots.