Shareholders to vote on union resolution at Tesco AGM
1st July 2009
In a first for a British trade union, Unite the union, will
table a resolution at Tesco's AGM on Friday 3rd July. The
resolution calls for action to end the exploitation and
discrimination of workers employed by companies in the UK and
Ireland that supply meat to Tesco.
The union has presented Tesco with evidence that some workers in
its UK supply chain are experiencing harsh and divisive conditions
that, in some cases, are abusive. So far Tesco has failed to
act.
Unite believes that structural discrimination exists in many
parts of the supply chain that provides meat to Tesco with agency
workers, overwhelmingly migrant, on poorer conditions of
employment, undercutting indigenous workers. That divides
workplaces, Unite says, and damages community social cohesion.
Unite believes the issues highlighted by the resolution
represent a systematic failure by Tesco either to anticipate or
properly manage its exposure to brand, reputational and political
risks.
The requisition of the resolution was endorsed by the West
Yorkshire Pension Fund (“WYPF”) which holds 15,584,965 shares in
Tesco. WYPF is one of the UK’s leading local authority pension
funds and has over 211,000 members and beneficiaries, employed by
184 separate organisations, with assets of £7,271 million as at
March 2008.
PIRC (Pensions Investments Research Council) has recommended to
its clients that they support Unite's resolution. The value of the
assets advised by PIRC are C£1.5 trillion. PIRC provides services
to institutional investors on corporate governance and corporate
social responsibility. PIRC has a wide spectrum of clients ranging
from pension funds, faith-based investors, trade unions to banks
and asset managers. Its Corporate Governance Service is an
authoritative and vital resource for active investors.
The resolution is also supported by the United Food and
Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which represents 1.3 million
members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
As an indication of the seriousness of Unite's claims, the
powerful Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is conducting
its first statutory inquiry into the UK's multi-billion pound meat
industry in England and Wales for evidence of employment abuse and
discrimination.
Unite’s deputy general secretary, Jack Dromey, said: “The
exploitation of migrant agency workers and undercutting of
indigenous workers divides workplaces, damages community social
cohesion and fuels racism. We have organised all workers around
fair and equal treatment of all workers. Now we take their cause to
the AGM of Tesco Shareholders, holding Terry Leahy to account.
“Tesco with Unite jointly commissioned an independent report
proving a two-tier labour market in the company's supply chain.
Tesco then walked away from the table. We tried and failed to
engage. The company is not interested. Now, the evidence of
structural discrimination is so strong that the independent EHRC is
conducting its first statutory inquiry.
“Tesco leads in size but lags behind competitor supermarkets who
are accepting their responsibilities. The meat industry will
forever be scarred by exploitation, undercutting and discrimination
if the dominant player washes its hands of responsibility.”
Ian Greenwood, chair of the pensions committee of West Yorkshire
Pension Fund said: "Tesco is an outstanding company which is
brilliantly managed and run, with good labour relations and
policies in the UK. In those circumstances, what we are asking is
that those standards apply to the rest of their supply chain to the
best of the company's ability."
ENDS
For further information contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931
315
Notes to editors: Tesco's AGM takes place on 3rd July in Glasgow
in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre at
10.30am
Union takes migrant worker fight to Tesco AGM - article from
the Guardian, 30 June 2009
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