Mandate seeks fresh talks with Tesco as strike continues

Mandate has written to Tesco seeking a fresh round of "without prejudice" talks to resolve a dispute which has seen an indefinite strike called at eight stores with more action planned for later in the week.

A further 23 stores will ballot for strike action next week.

The dispute centres around a desire on the part of the company to move staff recruited before 1996 into different contracts.

The proposed contract changes will impact on 250 staff who could see their incomes reduced by up to 15 per cent, according to the union. However the company disputes this and says many of the workers’ wages will increase.

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Mandate's general secretary John Douglas wrote to Andrew Yaxley, the chief executive of Tesco Ireland on Wednesday morning with the offer of talks.

He said it was the second such offer made in less than a week and claimed that an initial approach made to the retailer last Friday met with no response.

“We hope that the company will reconsider our offer in the best interests of Tesco Ireland, its customers and staff,” he said.

In the letter, he said the union had repeatedly sought assurances “that Tesco will not attempt to enforce changes to contracts without agreement” and asked it to “engage with Mandate in good faith discussions in an attempt to find a solution acceptable to both parties for the immediate resolution of this dispute.

The letter says Tesco had rejected the offer and instead demanded "that 'Mandate accept the Labour Court Recommendation'. For the avoidance of any doubt please be aware that Mandate as an institution does not accept or reject Labour Court Recommendations rather this is the prerogative of the members concerned in a secret ballot and they have overwhelmingly rejected the Labour Court Recommendation."

The letter said it was clear that a resolution “of this dispute cannot be found totally within the confines of the Recommendation as it currently stands.

“So once again, I would ask Tesco and Mandate on a ‘without prejudice’ basis to either parties’ position, engage in good faith discussions to find a solution acceptable to all those involved”.

However, the letter is unlikely to lead to a speedy resolution of the dispute.

Less than 24 hours ago Tesco urged Mandate’s leadership to use its influence to achieve acceptance of the Labour Court Recommendation and pointed out it had accepted the Labour Court Recommendation in its totality.

It said it had spent 13 months in discussions with Mandate and had “always sought to reach agreement” on changes to the contracts of staff employed before 1996.

“We have followed all the industrial relations processes of the State to seek agreement. The union referred this matter to the Labour Court, Tesco accepted the Labour Court Recommendation, Mandate has most unusually rejected it,” a spokeswoman said.

Tesco said yesterday it was “shocked at Mandate’s moves on two levels, firstly to refuse to abide by the Labour Court which is the cornerstone of the industrial relations system in Ireland and secondly by advocating that customers shop in non-union competitor supermarkets”.

It described the action as “a retrograde step for the industrial relations processes of the State which it undermines. The Labour Court Recommendation is the only solution to this dispute.”