Over 7,000 staff in Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices stores are to be balloted for strike action. This follows a refusal by the British parent company, Tesco, to make a "goodwill" payment to staff, following its acquisition of the stores earlier this year. Union leaders in Mandate and SIPTU have warned the company that the dispute could also hinder its plans to reorganise its Irish outlets, which include the Lifestyle chain as well as the supermarkets.
The general secretary of Mandate, Mr Owen Nulty, said last night that members were very dissatisfied that there had been no payment to them in recognition of their role in building up the business, for which Tesco paid £650 million.
Mandate organises about 6,000 of the workers and it will be early next month before the ballot is concluded. However, the result is virtually certain to be for some form of industrial action.
Members will also be balloted on a Labour Court recommendation, which backed the company's case that it was not obliged to make the payments. The unions had claimed a precedent. When Quinnsworth took over the "Five Star" supermarket chain in 1979, each employee received a "goodwill" payment equivalent to two weeks' pay per year of service.
However, the court said the payment was effectively made in lieu of redundancy and the present situation was not comparable.
SIPTU regional secretary, Mr Bob Brady, said last night that over 1,000 members of his union would also be balloted on the Labour Court recommendation and industrial action. The Tesco chain is anxious to reorganise its Irish operation and may sell off the Lifestyle stores as part of the process. Mr Nulty and Mr Brady said that discussions on proposed changes could be difficult if there is no resolution of the "goodwill" claim. However, neither union is ruling out the possibility that the "goodwill" payment could be discussed as part of a larger package.
Given that strike action is unlikely much before the end of October, this gives time for both sides to address the issue again.