Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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As we know, Tesco workers began industrial action on Tuesday, which was St. Valentine's Day. It was not for the fun of it; rather, it was to ensure that their employer would honour the workers' terms and conditions.

In this day and age it is an absolute disgrace that they would have to do so and that proper workers' rights are not enshrined in legislation to protect them and their terms and conditions.

On Tuesday morning I attended in solidarity with the workers in Ballyfermot and will do so as the strike continues. Tesco's action in its assault on the terms and conditions of these workers and its union busting attitude is reminiscent of the actions of William Martin Murphy and his ilk and is a continuation of a move by many employers in a race to the bottom in terms of wages and terms and conditions which we have seen for decades and which the State has not prevented.

It is the State's job to protect workers' rights. I call on the State to step in and prevent companies, especially those as profitable as Tesco, which is one of the most profitable retailers in Ireland, from slashing wages. For it to attack and assault workers' rights is disgraceful, especially when we consider that many of those who work for Tesco end up dependent on the State for a top up. This is a move that other retailers and companies are doing more frequently to ensure that workers are dependent on the State rather than the company. These people have worked and provided the companies' profits and the only answer the companies have, in particular Tesco, is to attack the terms and conditions of the workers.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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Today I had a call from a Tesco worker who is not a pre-1996 worker but who stands full square behind her colleagues. She knows that she will be next if she does not stand behind them. She recounted what has happened to her since expressing her support. Her management has called her in on several occasions and told her not to support her fellow colleagues - her neighbours and her friends. She explained that these are the very people who taught her everything she knows in the job. They gave her the benefit of their life experience and have always been hugely supportive. She is witnessing them being bullied and pushed around to the point that stress and intimidation has already forced a number of them out.

If the Minister does not call out this company and confirm to it that it will not be allowed to get away with changing contracts of employment without agreement, in effect the Government is undermining decent jobs and conditions. Everyone's job conditions are at stake. Those wages and conditions, which were fought for, allowed Tesco to become one of the most successful multinationals operating on this island. I have no doubt that Tesco management forced this strike. It wants the unions silenced so that it can pursue a race to the bottom. It is a fact that 900 full-time jobs were done away with last year in this hugely profitable company and not one of them was replaced with a full-time contract.

As Deputy Ó Snodaigh stated, 10% of Tesco workers are receiving social welfare statements. Will we allow it to get away with this so that, perhaps, half the wages are funded out of it? The right to a decent job with decent pay and conditions must be our starting point. If we do not defend it here in Tesco, it will spread. That is unacceptable in modern Ireland.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I met the Tesco workers in Tullamore and stood in solidarity with them on the picket line. It is appalling that long-term Tesco workers are being told to accept unacceptable and imposed changes to their contracts or to get out the door. The new contracts would result in some workers experiencing reduced incomes of up to 15% along with increased use of undecided hours. Already 10% of Tesco staff are so low paid that the State has to top up their incomes with supplementary welfare. This is despite the fact the company makes profits of millions and much more than any other retailer in Ireland.

The wider issue is that there is real fear among union members that this is an attempt by Tesco to undermine trade union membership, as we have seen with other retailers, and it needs to be stopped. It has been reported that Tesco has written to staff to encourage them to leave their union as part of Project Black. This is seen by many within the trade union movement as a clear attempt by Tesco to undermine further the terms and conditions of staff in order to increase its already large profits. It is a disgrace. This Government needs to stand with the workers and it needs to act to ensure that trade union membership is protected at all times. It needs to stand up to corporations that are exploiting workers in the State.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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The situation in Tesco should be alarming to anyone concerned with decent work in this country, particularly Government. Over recent months, 900 full-time permanent jobs in a hugely profitable company have been lost. Not one full-time job has replaced them. Instead Tesco is now going after the remaining 250 workers on these decent contracts and trying to force them out the door. The company states that it has offered workers voluntary redundancy, but what kind of choice is it when they are told their terms and conditions will be torn up if they stay on. In reality, this is part of a long-term plan in Tesco to break their union.

Earlier this month in the Dáil, I spoke about Project Black. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation heard me speak about it. It is a plan drawn up by a union-busting legal firm, Eversheds, which was also employed by Ryanair when it set up its company. We now know that there is also Project Purple. The company initially stated that there was no such thing as Project Black. Then it admitted there was but, in admitting it, it stated there also was Project Purple. The staff are wondering what the hell is Project Purple, which appears to be coming down the line.

The plan is to convert an entire workforce of 11,000 jobs to part-time, low paid and precarious work. This matches what we are seeing across the economy, which is the growth of low pay Ireland. Jobs in companies such as Tesco that once offered workers enough security to plan their lives enough pay to support a family are being replaced with ones that will never be able to meet the cost of living. The most recent OECD statistics show that Ireland is second in the developed world for low paid jobs - it is one in four jobs.

Is the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation prepared to stand over this kind of economy? If not, why is she not intervening and telling Tesco not to bully its workers in the way it has in recent weeks? Will she state today that a company that made €250 million in profit here last year should not unilaterally change the terms and conditions of the workers who made that possible?

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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I welcome the Tesco workers and their supporters who are in the Visitors Gallery. We have heard from other Deputies about a company that makes €250 million profit in this country each year attempting to cut workers' pay by 20% by tearing up agreements. However, this is my question for the Minister. This major multinational retail outlet is organising a wholesale union-busting campaign right under the Minister's nose. Look at what it is doing: it is banning union business from the staff canteens, banning union information from the staff notice boards, banning union officials from going on the premises and encouraging staff to leave the union and now we know it is ending the check off of union subscriptions from workers' wages. This is a classic American-style union-busting campaign. Deputy Collins told the Minister its name: Project Black.

The Minister is responsible for jobs and employment and this is taking place under her nose. When she stands to speak, will she please inform the House and the Tesco workers and their supporters in the Visitors Gallery what she will do to stop and outlaw this union-busting campaign taking place under her very nose?

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Members for their co-operation. It is not easy to accommodate five Members on one Topical Issue.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the workers who have stood against the actions of Tesco and members of the public who have shown solidarity with them. The Minister stated she did not have a role in the matter. On the contrary, as a legislator she can change the law to protect workers. I urge her and other Ministers to support the Industrial Relations (Right to Access) (Amendment) Bill when it comes before the House on Second Stage next week. I request also that the Minister ask her colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, to issue a statement clarifying that family income supplement payments to striking workers will not be affected while they are in dispute as Tesco management has been threatening striking staff with such a fall-out from their action.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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While I welcome the talks that have been announced, talks only work if the people talking are willing to listen. Against that backdrop, it is critical that the Government intervene to put manners on an employer that has been out of control in this dispute. While I accept that the issues were before the industrial relations machinery of the State, the Labour Court recommendation was rejected not by Mandate but by trade union members and workers participating in a democratic process. It is the right of workers under legislation and in collective agreements to defend their contracts of employment. Will the Minister direct Tesco that it is unlawful to change a person's contract of employment without his or her agreement given that the company has not secured such agreement?

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for her response, which was very disappointing. Sinn Féin has consistently stood with workers. We have introduced a number of Bills, for example, the Banded Hours Contract Bill, to address key issues of concerns but we have been thwarted at every turn by the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties. I commend Deputy David Cullinane who will introduce legislation on this issue next week. The Industrial Relations (Right to Access) (Amendment) Bill proposes to place the right of access to trade union membership on a statutory footing. It will also protect the right of workers to engage with a trade union in line with a measure in operation in New Zealand. I encourage all Deputies to support the Bill when Second Stage is taken next week. We must put a stop, once and for all, to the race to the bottom and protect ordinary workers who work hard and are the backbone of the economy.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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In an e-mail I received one of the workers in Tesco, Mark, states his mortgage, car loan and health insurance are all at risk. He and his colleagues, he continues, want to do a day's work and get on with their lives without a threat hanging over them. If the company gets workers on pre-1996 contracts, he warns, others must watch their backs because they will be next.

I reiterate the point made by Deputy Clare Daly. Under current legislation, a worker's contract cannot be changed without agreement. Tesco workers rejected the Labour Court recommendation because it did not clarify many of their concerns and questions. The Minister must tell Tesco to stop using the tactics it has employed. It is breaking the law and should be told it cannot behave in this manner in Ireland. It should also be told to withdraw the threats it has made and negotiate again with workers.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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Five minutes ago, I asked the Minister what steps she was prepared to take given that a major international retail company is organising a trade union busting campaign under her nose. In response, she read a script which did not answer my question. I will repeat my question and in doing so I ask the Minister to answer it when she replies again. What measures is she prepared to take and what legislation does she intend to bring before the House to prevent union-busting of this type?

Many Tesco workers are in receipt of family income supplement as a result of the low wages paid by the company. As the jostling in the Fine Gael Party continues to see who will be its next leader and the next Taoiseach, the name of the Minister for Social Protection, who has responsibility for family income supplement, is in lights at the moment. Is the Minister prepared to state that she will call clearly and cleanly on the Minister for Social Protection to ensure that the family income supplement payment of not one worker will be affected while he or she is on strike? The company would like it to be affected to break and undermine the strike.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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There has been an offer of talks but no one has agreed to take part because the contracts are still under threat.