29th April 2009
Following the start of their official strike this morning at the Tesco store in Douglas, members of the Mandate union have shown their unity and it is clear that they are not going to give in to the bullying tactics of their employer. Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Douglas area, who has been supporting the workers for the past fortnight in their dispute, joined them this morning as they started their picket.
Cllr. Donnelly said: “The way Tesco has been treating their long standing employees in Douglas is nothing short of inhumane. They have shown a complete disregard for any kind of human decency. However from talking to the employees as they started their strike this morning, it is abundantly clear that they will not be bowed by the bullying tactics of Tesco, and will stand up and fight for their rights. All they are asking is for their jobs to continue with the same terms and conditions they have enjoyed for all their time working for Tesco in Douglas (formerly Quinnsworth), some of them for over thirty years.”
“I urge the public to support the Tesco workers by not passing the picket lines, and to avoid spending any money in any Tesco stores. This is the only way Tesco will be forced to be reasonable. It is now clear that Tesco intend to try to remove the working conditions enjoyed by all their long standing employees right around the country, and that they are using Douglas as a test case. We, the public, have the power to stop this happening, as the only language Tesco understand is money, so it is quite simple – don’t spend any money in Tesco until they treat their employees reasonably,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.
Additional Information: The official strike (by members of the Mandate trade union) started this morning (Wednesday) at the old Tesco store in Douglas. They will be joined from tomorrow by their SIPTU colleagues. The old shop closes tomorrow (Thursday) evening, and Tesco intend to open their new Tesco Extra store on Friday morning (1st May).
Dominick Donnelly 
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