Unite suspends plans for Christmas strike among Tesco workers in Northern Ireland

Unite says the prospect of shoppers being faced with empty shelves this Christmas has receded as members of Unite have been made an improved offer in the dispute over pay.

Unite announced earlier this week that its members employed at Tesco distribution centres in Antrim, Belfast, Didcot and Doncaster would be staging a series of strikes both before and after Christmas.

Following that announcement fresh talks with the company were held and an improved offer was made. The workers have now been offered a minimum of a 5.5 per cent increase backdated to July 2021 (the anniversary date for annual pay increases) and an additional 0.5 per cent from February 2022.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tesco’s improved offer shows what can be achieved by our members standing together. Given that the company has forecast profits for 2021 topping £2.5 billion an improved offer is the least Tesco workers could expect”.

“Unite is the union which always puts the jobs, pay and conditions of its members first and in doing so it is consistently securing improved pay deals for its members.”

In addition Unite has secured an agreement with Tesco for a formal dialogue on revising the current system of legacy and new generation contracts. If agreed this would create a single pay scale for all the work being undertaken in the distribution centres.

Unite was also able to secure an increase in overtime at the Doncaster distribution centre and an increase in holiday entitlement (one bank holiday and one standard holiday) for the workers at Belfast.

Unite will now ballot its members on the deal and is recommending its acceptance.

If the deal is rejected by the members then fresh strike action will be announced but that is unlikely to be before January 2022.

Unite national officer Adrian Jones said: “Right from the beginning of this dispute Unite has been clear that Tesco could afford to make a more generous offer and that has proved to be the case.

“It is now up to Unite’s members to decide if the proposed deal meets their expectations.”

The negotiations held today did not encompass the Unite members employed at the Livingstone distribution centre in Scotland who yesterday (Monday 6 December) also announced strike action. A further update about this dispute is expected in the coming days.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re pleased to have agreed a pay deal with Unite that it recommends to its members. Colleagues at these centres will no longer be taking industrial action. We look forward to delivering a fantastic Christmas for customers.” It is still in talks with employees in the USDAW union in GB.

Members of the shopworkers union USDAW, employed at Tesco distribution centres have also voted for strike action.

A Tesco spokesman said last week that the supermarket was “disappointed” that strike action was agreed to and it had contingency plans in place to mitigate the strike’s impact.

“The pay offer we have made is a fair recognition of this, and is one of the highest awards made within our distribution business in the last 25 years, building on our highly competitive pay and rewards package,” the spokesman said.

“We welcome the decision by our colleagues at the sites who have voted against industrial action. We are disappointed that some have voted to proceed, and we have contingency plans in place to help mitigate any impacts. We have worked hard to deliver Christmas for our customers and are confident we will be able to fulfill our plans.”

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