Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Last year sales were up 14% at Tesco Ireland, and the parent company made an operating profit of more than €2.25 billion. While the company added up the pandemic profits, Tesco workers risked their health day in, day out working at the front line.

Is the Taoiseach aware that this company is now trying to remove from staff all premium payments, including payment for working Sundays, bank holidays, unsociable hours, etc.? Is the Taoiseach aware that this company is trying to persuade workers to agree to work three months of Sundays in a row in return for a one-off lump sum payment and that this overall package could result in pay losses of up to €5,000 a year for some workers? The programme for Government rightly highlights the importance of work-life balance. Will the Taoiseach join me in opposing the actions of this money-hungry corporation and in saluting the stand being made by its workforce, which, to its credit, has rejected this rotten deal, with 88% of workers voting no?

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