New Christmas deliveries threat
A UNION is taking legal action after claiming Tesco has acted “unlawfully” by threatening to sack staff and cut pay over possible strike action which it is feared could hit Christmas deliveries.
Trade union Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) has threatened to start a strike from December 20 at distribution centres, including its biggest depot in Livingston – just as Christmas online orders are due to be shipped out.
But workers at the West Lothian distribution centre – Tesco’s largest in Europe – have raised concerns that managers have threatened to withdraw pay and bonuses as staff are balloted over industrial action.
The UK’S fifth-biggest union Usdaw, which represents 400,000 workers in the retail sector – as well as people employed in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades – is now taking legal advice over Tesco’s threat to pay and jobs.
The union has told Tesco it believes the action is “unlawful” and told the supermarket giant: “We reserve our members’ legal rights on this matter.”
Scots workers have received a letter from Andrew Woolfenden, the UK distribution and fulfilment director of Tesco, issuing the warning after staff rejected an offer of a 4 per cent increase on hourly pay rates.
Mr Woolfenden said that if strike action takes place and stock is not delivered in time to stores as a result, “we put our business and the future of your site at risk”.
He said that if they took part in a strike they will be in breach of their contract of employment and that they will not be paid for the entire shifts in which strike action is taken.
Usdaw has told staff in a separate communication: “We are extremely disappointed that the company has resorted to threatening to take money away from their hardworking staff simply as a result of exercising their right to ballot for industrial action.
“We will be contacting the company to understand why they believe they have a legal right to make these threats and/or withhold these monies from our members.
“It is extremely important that we do not allow the company’s tactics to influence the outcome of the ballot.
“The letter also includes reference to potentially terminating employment should the industrial action last longer than 12 weeks. Usdaw believes that taking such a step would not be in Tesco’s interests and would likely have a far more detrimental impact on their operation than the potential industrial action.”
The row is centred around workers being given a “decent pay rise” to help cope with increased living costs being caused by inflation.
Usdaw members have already rejected one pay offer from Tesco and are being balloted on whether to strike in the week starting December 20.
The ballots will run until December 6. If the strikes go ahead, they will affect nine Tesco warehouses.
The Livingston distribution centre, which was opened in May 2008, serves all Tesco stores across Scotland and Northern Ireland, and employs nearly 2,000 people.
It is extremely important that we do not allow the company’s tactics to influence the outcome of the ballot