Retail giant Tesco has today refuted claims made by the Mandate trade union, whose members are voting on industrial action today.
“It is incorrect to say that we have refused to implement the recommendation and is really disappointing that the trade union has decided to adopt this position when the vast majority of our store colleagues have received the benefits of the recent Labour Court recommendation and when we remain open to discussions with the trade unions in regard to our pre-1996 colleagues,” the statement read.
“In recent weeks, eligible colleagues received a 1.5% lump sum cash payment which is consistent with the spirit of the Labour Court recommendation and which did not apply to pre-1996 colleagues as their contract gave them an automatic entitlement to a 5% award which was honoured in 2015.
“We also announced a 2% pay increase backdated to April 2015 to all eligible colleagues covered by the collective agreement with the exception of pre-1996 colleagues whose terms are currently subject to discussions between the company and the trade unions.
“No final decision has been made with regard to these colleagues which is not uncommon where there are other discussions taking place.
“Tesco remains the only large food retailer to operate collective bargaining with the trade unions across all of our stores and so we are really disappointed with their approach on this.”
Tesco has proposed that staff who joined before 1996 adopt the company’s “modern contract” in the coming weeks “to unlock the inflexibility in our business”.
The company said that the older contracts, which include guaranteed overtime, “doesn’t take account of the needs of each store or give colleagues an equal opportunity to work overtime when it arises”.
More than 12,000 workers at Tesco will begin balloting on industrial action today.
Unions say the company has refused to implement a Labour Court recommendation for a 2% pay increase.
It is expected that the workers will vote in favour of walking off the job.
The result will not be known for several weeks given the numbers of staff involved, however.
Assistant general secretary of Mandate, Gerry Light, said that the mood amongst his members is grim and a strike now seems likely.
"It's an entirely democratic, secret ballot process," he said.
"But I think that it's entirely likely, that there's a real possibility that because of not only the way Tescos treated workers in respect to this 2% wage increase issue, but also again as I say the very people that they have denied the 2% to are the people who are threatening to remove and reduce significantly their earning power on the 18th of April this year."