Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of Tesco's disgraceful treatment of its workers. On Tuesday morning, well over 100 retail security officers were called into their individual stores at 9 a.m. to be told their contracts were being unilaterally passed, that is, outsourced to a security company, OCS, which works for Tesco, within six to eight weeks. There was no engagement with the workers prior to their being called in and no engagement with their unions. The workers, some of whom have been employed by Tesco for more than 20 years, have six to eight weeks to choose between redundancy or being outsourced. Having given loyal service to Tesco, including working through two years of the pandemic, while most people were staying at home, to make sure society could eat and function, and putting their health and lives at risk in doing so, these workers should be treated as heroes and be getting pay increases and pandemic bonuses. They should not be treated like this, potentially facing an insecure future in which their terms and conditions of work are very likely to be undermined over time. We do not know whether OCS may lose its contract with Tesco in the future.

Tesco has form for treating its workers badly. The Minister of State may remember that, back in 2017, 250 of its employees were told to accept worse terms and conditions or leave. Tesco brought in a plan called "project black", drawn up by a union-busting firm, to undermine the pay and conditions of its workers and the trade union, Mandate, thereby forcing workers to go on strike. There was no need to attack those workers then and there is no need to outsource these workers now. Tesco has never justified changes of employment for its workers. It is one of the most profitable retailers in Ireland. In the first half of 2016, the Tesco group registered profits of €584 million. In 2015, the CEO was paid £4.6 million, including a £3 million bonus. The company has referred in the past to the Republic of Ireland as "Treasure Island". Two weeks ago, an article in one of the Sundays newspapers headlined "A happy Christmas for Tesco" stated that Tesco Ireland had raised its profit outlook for the second time in four months. A rise in Christmastime sales was reported, as well as a 0.2% sales increase in the quarter ending 27 November 2021. End of year results for the 2021-22 retail year are slightly above the company's €2.5 billion to €2.6 billion projection.

The race to the bottom that is the relentless campaign by some companies and multinationals to increase profits must stop. Does the Minister of State agree that Tesco should immediately withdraw this approach and its attempt to outsource jobs?

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