Strike action deferred at Tullamore's Tesco store

Tomorrow’s strike Tullamore’s Tesco Extra has been deferred following intervention from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

It was one of 70 Tesco stores nationwide which have now deferred the planned strike action. Tullamore’s Tesco Extra employees around 120 staff.

Tesco Ireland and Mandate Trade Union representatives will now attend the WRC in an effort to resolve the issues in dispute under the provision that all agreed procedures between the union and the company will be fully exhausted should agreement not be reached at the WRC, Mandate said in a statement.

According to the union, Tesco will not set any further dates for the implementation of contract changes and Mandate have therefore deferred their intention to proceed with industrial action.

In the meantime, Mandate and Tesco have agreed that no hostilities between the parties will take place until those procedures have been fully exhausted. Staff members are being told to report for work as rostered tomorrow.

Tesco Ireland said: “This afternoon the WRC extended an invitation to Tesco and the Trade Unions to attend a fifth conciliation meeting on Friday 27 May to try reach agreement on the terms for the proposed changes to our pre-1996/97 that affects 300 colleagues of our 14,500 workforce. We have accepted this invitation and we understand that the Trade Unions have as well. Mandate has cancelled its planned industrial action for tomorrow, Thursday 26 May.”