Shareholders to Vote on Union Resolution at Tesco AGM

LONDON - In a first for a British trade union, Unite the union, will table a resolution at Tesco’s AGM on Friday 3rd July. The resolution calls for action to end the exploitation and discrimination of workers employed by companies in the UK and Ireland that supply meat to Tesco.

The union has presented Tesco with evidence that some workers in its UK supply chain are experiencing harsh and divisive conditions that, in some cases, are abusive. So far Tesco has failed to act. Unite believes that structural discrimination exists in many parts of the supply chain that provides meat to Tesco with agency workers, overwhelmingly migrant, on poorer conditions of employment, undercutting indigenous workers. That divides workplaces, Unite says, and damages community social cohesion.

Unite believes the issues highlighted by the resolution represent a systematic failure by Tesco either to anticipate or properly manage its exposure to brand, reputational and political risks.

The requisition of the resolution was endorsed by the West Yorkshire Pension Fund (”WYPF”) which holds 15,584,965 shares in Tesco. WYPF is one of the UK’s leading local authority pension funds and has over 211,000 members and beneficiaries, employed by 184 separate organisations, with assets of GBP7,271 million as at March 2008.

PIRC (Pensions Investments Research Council) has recommended to its clients that they support Unite’s resolution. The value of the assets advised by PIRC are CGBP1.5 trillion. PIRC provides services to institutional investors on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. PIRC has a wide spectrum of clients ranging from pension funds, faith-based investors, trade unions to banks and asset managers. Its Corporate Governance Service is an authoritative and vital resource for active investors.

The resolution is also supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which represents 1.3 million members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

As an indication of the seriousness of Unite’s claims, the powerful Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is conducting its first statutory inquiry into the UK’s multi-billion pound meat industry in England and Wales for evidence of employment abuse and discrimination.

Unite’s Deputy General Secretary, Jack Dromey says:

“The exploitation of migrant agency workers and undercutting of indigenous workers divides workplaces, damages community social cohesion and fuels racism. We have organised all workers around fair and equal treatment of all workers. Now we take their cause to the AGM of Tesco Shareholders, holding Terry Leahy to account.”

“Tesco with Unite jointly commissioned an independent report proving a two-tier labour market in their supply chain. They then walked away from the table. We tried and failed to engage. They are not interested. Now, the evidence of structural discrimination is so strong that the independent EHRC is conducting its first statutory inquiry.”

“Tesco leads in size but lags behind competitor supermarkets who are accepting their responsibilities. The meat industry will forever be scarred by exploitation, undercutting and discrimination if the dominant player washes its hands of responsibility.”

Ian Greenwood, Chair of the pensions committee of West Yorkshire Pension Fund said:

“Tesco is an outstanding company which is brilliantly managed and run, with good labour relations and policies in the UK. In those circumstances, what we are asking is that those standards apply to the rest of their supply chain to the best of their ability.”

Notes to editors: Tesco’s AGM takes place on 3rd July in Glasgow in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre at 10.30am

Source: Unite the Union

For further information contact: Ciaran Naidoo on +44(0)7768-931-315