Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil finds the treatment of the Tesco workers deeply concerning. It is shocking to read that the management has signalled its intention to unilaterally change existing employment contracts without any agreement from the workers. It flies in the face of established industrial relations practice ensuring that workers in this country should have decent employment conditions.

It is my party's view that all sides should engage in the State's industrial relations machinery and come together to try to work this out. We welcome the fact that the two sides to the dispute got together on Friday evening last at the Workplace Relations Commission and that talks are to continue under the auspices of ICTU and IBEC to try to come together to find a negotiation.

It is hypocritical of Sinn Féin to come in here on an important issue to try to criticise my party when we read, Sunday after Sunday, how it treats its own employees and workers who, by the way, are not unionised.

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