Mandate seeks talks with Tesco over future of Irish workers

Trade union Mandate has written to Tesco Ireland seeking a meeting with the grocer after it confirmed plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs in the UK.

Mandate's assistant secretary general Gerry Light told The Irish Times that he had requested the meeting with Tesco Ireland after being contacted by its members over the weekend.

“It is creating anxiety amongst our members, and we are seeking the same commitment as UK members,” Mr Light said, referencing a commitment made by Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis to consult with workers as the company pushed ahead with job cuts.

Mr Light said he had not received any response from Tesco Ireland to his letter, adding that “any failure to respond will only heighten tensions and anxieties” among Mandate’s membership of roughly 9,000 Tesco workers here.

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A spokeswoman for Tesco Ireland said the changes “relate to Tesco UK”. “Whenever we make changes in our business, colleagues are always the first to know,” she said.

Tesco Ireland and Mandate fought a protracted industrial relations battle in 2017 over contract changes for 250 long-serving staff. At the time some picketed Tesco stores saw sales decline by almost 80 per cent.