Tesco has fought back against claims that its US staff do not enjoy the same employment rights as those in the UK.
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In a report entitled “the two faces of Tesco”, a US union has claimed Tesco’s failure to hold talks has undermined its reputation for acceptable employment standards.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union held a press conference in London yesterday (4 June) to highlight what it characterised as Tesco’s “duel standard”.
UFCW campaigns director Emily Stewart said: “Tesco has a great reputation for employment rights and corporate responsibility in the UK, but this is sullied by its behaviour in the US.”
While the union has not issued any specific demands, it has called on Tesco to enter a dialogue with it over employees working for its fledgling Fresh & Easy business.
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By GlobalDataHowever, according to Tesco’s international director Philip Clarke, the company does not recognise the union because Fresh & Easy workers are not interested in joining. “Whether or not our staff want to unionise is up to them. Our US workers have shown no interest in doing so,” he said at yesterday’s IGD retail conference in London.
When contacted by just-food, a Tesco spokesperson added: “We strongly believe that union membership is a matter of individual choice and if our people want to join a union then they can and will. All the signs so far are is that there is little interest in doing so.”
