Dominick Donnelly

21^st April 2009

Following the meeting of the Mandate trade union yesterday evening, at which a clear majority voted for strike action at Tesco Douglas, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, who has been working with the Tesco workers since this problem first came to light over the Easter weekend, expressed regret that Tesco’s unwillingness to negotiate has led to this strike.

Cllr. Donnelly said:  “This strike has become inevitable given the disdain Tesco has shown to its workers over the past week and a half.  With Tesco announcing record profits globally of over €3 billion today, this is obviously not a company in trouble.  Therefore Tesco should just transfer its existing workforce in Douglas to the new larger Tesco Extra store, which is due to open on May 1^st, without changing their contracts of employment.  There is absolutely no reason for the workers to have their terms and conditions changed, except the corporate greed of Tesco Ireland.”

“I hope Tesco will see sense, and will see sense very soon, so that this dispute can be resolved quickly.  The sympathies of the population of the Douglas area are very much on the side of the workers, and they will support the workers by staying away from Tesco if this strike proceeds.  This is hardly the start Tesco want for their new store.” concluded Cllr. Donnelly.