Workers at a branch of Tesco in Co Cork have agreed to suspend strike action ahead of talks at the Labour Relations Commission.
Up to 80 employeees at Tesco's in Douglas took to the picket line yesterday morning over the retailer's plans not to honour established terms and conditions for staff moving to a new store in the area.
Tesco is opening up a new branch in the same shopping centre tomorrow and seven workers who have been employed by the company since 1996 say they will lose existing terms and conditions as a result of the move.
During yesterday's strike, the store remained open with management working behind the counters.
Tesco says it has referred the matter to the LRC and is offering a generous package to workers while the matter proceeds through the commission.
“The issue relates to historical ‘guaranteed’ overtime levels which are no longer appropriate . . . The company has offered to pay the compensation in advance whilst the matter proceeds through the third party process,” a Tesco spokesman said yesterday.
Mandate, the union representing the affected workers, claims the company was asking workers to accept terms and conditions associated with the move to the new store before entering into the LRC process.