Tánaiste examines plan for retail code of conduct

PROPOSALS TO introduce a code of practice to regulate the relationship between suppliers and retailers is under consideration by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan.

She told the Dáil she was examining proposals for a code of conduct and said any retail company making a profit and sustaining its business “should grant price reductions to consumers as well as giving a fair return to suppliers”.

Legislation is also being drawn up to take account of changes in competition law and the Minister will shortly publish a report by the Competition Authority on the retail import-distribution sector “as to how competition is working in the sector and whether any practices or methods of competition are affecting the supply of goods and services in that sector”.

Questions were raised in the house after potato growers yesterday disrupted a meeting of executives of supermarket giant Tesco, and concern was raised about the retailer’s practices here.

Labour enterprise spokesman Willie Penrose said Tesco profits were 50 per cent higher in the Republic than the UK, while Fine Gael spokesman Leo Varadkar said they were about €200 million.

Mr Penrose said “despite these super profits, the company is looking for Irish suppliers to take a cut of least 20 per cent”. Job losses “were announced last week”. “Two Irish suppliers were experiencing difficulties”, and a “number of Irish suppliers were told . . . without so much as a letter or a telephone call that their shelf space would be reduced overnight without negotiation”.

Shelf space “means availability for people’s products and some major Irish products are no longer finding shelf space”. There was a strike ballot at Tesco and “the company is reducing people’s working week by nine or 10 hours. They are also talking about cutting out the Christmas bonus for those workers”.