A trade union group has attacked Tesco over its treatment of workers in some foreign markets. The UNI Tesco Global Union Alliance yesterday issued reports criticising Tesco's labour practices in Thailand, South Korea and the US, following local complaints. The reports allege that Tesco coerced employees in Thailand and South Korea into working unpaid overtime, and refused to discuss the possibility of organised labour representation in the US.

Tesco, which employs around 470,000 staff in 14 countries, said the reports were "a travesty". "This is a politically motivated report paid for by a union which is trying to recruit more members," a Tesco spokesman said in a statement. "The allegations are untrue."

Usdaw, which represents many of Tesco's staff in the UK, said it had a good working relationship with the firm. "The allegations made in this report are not something Usdaw would recognise in relation to Tesco," it said in a statement.

Tesco added, “Wherever we operate in the world, all staff are free to join trade unions and can voice their opinions in a number of ways, including our anonymous annual staff survey. We have productive relationships with unions in a number of countries including USDAW in the UK and Solidarity in Poland.”

UNI denied misrepresenting the truth and said the reports had been meticulously researched. The United Food and Commercial Workers, the largest US grocery union, has been campaigning for recognition from Tesco, where the group is making a push into the US market with its Fresh & Easy stores. Tesco said, “If a member of staff wants to join a union, they can. There are clear rules [in the US] on how businesses have to recognise unions if they get to a certain level of support, and we would abide by this. At the moment, the level of support is not there.”

UNI said it had "good relations and regular dialogue" with French retail giant Carrefour and Germany’s Metro but that Tesco had refused to meet or talk with UNI officials. "Tesco's employment practices fall short of its published global labour principles in many countries. What we want to see is local consistency with Tesco's global standards, which is not happening at the moment," said Alke Bossiger, the head of department for UNI's commerce unit.

NamNews - Wednesday 1st July 2009

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