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Temp workers struggle at TESCOs in Ireland

category ireland / britain | workplace struggles | feature author Wednesday August 03, 2005 19:05author by Andrew - Anarkismo Report this post to the editors

Polish workers fired for standing up for their rights

The giant supermarket corporation TESCO's recently fired two migrant Polish workers at its depot in Dublin, Ireland. They were demanding an end to the speed up in work rate, equal rates of pay for temp and permanent workers and for contracts for everyone who had worked at the depot three months or more.

It appears that TESCO may have cause to regret this action as far from lying down the workers concerned have organised with others to fight back. This started with a picket outside the depot which resulted in a two hour stoppage inside (under the cover of a union meeting - a common way of getting around anti-strike laws in Ireland).

Now the sacked workers are at the centre of a campaign demanding a change in conditions at the plant that has seen solidarity actions take place in Poland - actions which are spreading to other parts of Europe including Britain

Temp workers struggle at TESCOs in Ireland


The giant supermarket corporation TESCO's recently fired two migrant Polish workers at its depot in Dublin, Ireland. They were demanding an end to the speed up in work rate, equal rates of pay for temp and permanent workers and for contracts for everyone who had worked at the depot three months or more.

It appears that TESCO may have cause to regret this action as far from lying down the workers concerned have organised with others to fight back. This started with a picket outside the depot which resulted in a two hour stoppage inside (under the cover of a union meeting - a common way of getting around anti-strike laws in Ireland).

Now the sacked workers are at the centre of a campaign demanding a change in conditions at the plant that has seen solidarity actions take place in Poland - actions which are spreading to other parts of Europe including Britain. This Thursday should see actions across Britain, Poland and Ireland - and hopefully beyond. The Tesco Temp Defence Committee is asking that people leaflet workers in Tescos and customers going into Tescos with copies of their leaflet explaining what is going on in Ireland. We will be carrying reports from these protests as they develop.

Background

TESCO exploiting Polish workers in Ireland

Resources

Solidarity leaflet with Dublin Tesco action

Text Polish workers distributed to workers in Tesco in Greenhills.

Audio interview with Polish workers who took wildcat action in Tescos Dublin

Reports of actions

Report of London Solidarity with Sacked Tescos Workers
With the text of the Leaflet distributed
The first London solidarity picket for the 2 Polish Tescos workers sacked last week in Dublin took place on Thursday evening. Around 20 people turned out to leaflet shoppers and staff at the Tesco's store on Morning Lane in Hackney. The text of the leaflet is included with this article.

Tesco Temp Workers Demonstration in Dublin
It poured rain in Dublin. What happened to the idea of summer? About 10 poles and 10 Irish anarchists handed out leaflets to the staff in Tesco and to customers going in.

Polish Workers in Ireland refuse to break their back for their boss

T&G Polish members join British Tesco protests
Transport and General Workers’ Union has announced that its Polish members in TESCOs will be joining the solidarity pickets with the Polish workers in Dublin TESCOs.

Mainstream media

Poles in Ireland don't want to be slaves

author by Variouspublication date Wed Aug 03, 2005 21:41author address author phone Report this post to the editors

DUBLIN Tesco Baggot Street (near Stephens Green)
BELFAST City centre
GLASGOW Tesco Argyle Street
LIVERPOOL Tesco St Johns Shopping Centre
LONDON Tesco Morning Lane, Hackney
OXFORD Tesco Cowley Road
LEEDS Tescos in Rhounday

author by Jason Brannigan - Organise!publication date Fri Aug 05, 2005 05:58author email organiseireland at yahoo dot ieauthor address P.O. Box 505, Belfast, BT12 6BQauthor phone Report this post to the editors

Despite a low turn out of half a dozen supporters the Belfast solidarity action with Tesco temp workers called by the Belfast Local of Organise! successfully raised the issue with Tesco staff, customers and passers by.

All the staff on duty where informed of the dispute in Greenhill and given copies of the leaflet published on irish indymedia. There was genuine concern expressed by the workers and support for the Tesco Temp Defence Committee's three demands. One member of staff took a number of leaflets from us and left his till to help distribute them to his fellow workers.

There was no interference from management or security.

Victory to the Tesco Temp Defence Committee.

In solidarity;

Jason Brannigan
Belfast Local, Organise!

Related Link: http://www.organiseireland.org
author by cube - FA - Pragapublication date Wed Aug 10, 2005 14:47author address author phone Report this post to the editors

In Poland there will be solidarity actions on Aug. 12 in Poznan, Gdansk and Warsaw. In Warsaw a actions will be held on Aug. 10 and 11 as well.

author by Laure - FA-Pragapublication date Wed Aug 10, 2005 20:52author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Sorry, forgot Szczecin in the above note.
Started an "infoline" action - calling into the infoline. The idea - to ask random workers on the phone about their work conditions, if they are unionized, if they know about the protests around Poland etc. And, I started to contact with an "insider" plus did some background.

It turns out - TESCO recruited people from Poland, including transfers from Poland, about six months ago claiming that there were not enough workers in Ireland. As the wages are shit in Poland, there were lots of people who wanted to go. My contact mentioned that there were rumours of labor "problems" with Irish workers but did not know details. Probably this means that TESCO just wanted cheaper workers.

TESCO in Poland is unionizing but the union is bullshit. TESCO belongs to the capitalist Leviathan, a private employers' association which is mostly responsible for lobbying the government for better conditions for employers. They have a Solidarity in TESCO which was trained in the UK by USDAW, which I understand is another bullshit union.

I'm sure people in the UK know more than we do about TESCO because I've read that there were numerous labour struggles before there. And of course there were some scandals abroad related to suppliers, farm workers and even union busting in Turkey.

In our action in Warsaw, we are going to focus on local working conditions, only mentioning the sacked workers. (Although we suppose other people are making a demo purely out of solidarity.) This is because for several years we have been doing small actions about conditions in the supermarkets and we feel that it's best to focus on this in general. And one of our members does back-breaking work at a supermarket for less than 200 euro a month so he can tell people directly what he has to go through.

author by mitchpublication date Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:27author email wsany at hotmail dot comauthor address author phone Report this post to the editors

Has this struggle been resolved or won?

author by Joepublication date Thu Oct 20, 2005 20:11author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Billionaire Tescos Exploits Foreign Workers
During July and August, major Polish newspapers, TV and radio stations carried a story about two Polish workers, who were dismissed from TESCO in Dublin, because of their fight for workers' rights.. One of sacked warehouse attendants, Radek Sawicki tells us about the struggle against TESCO and its consequences.

Related Link: http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=1545
author by chris martinpublication date Wed Dec 07, 2005 06:37author email themarslandhotel at aol dot comauthor address 169 lytham rd blackpool fy16dnauthor phone 01253244015Report this post to the editors

jason fairclough the shift manager at the blackpool extra did not let saff leave the store when a bome thret had been made,
the store sould have been evacuated, the saff and custamers sould have not been put at risk.
saff were told not to leave as there wages would be stopped or it would be leaving the job.
in my mined this man should lose his job as you do not but saff or customers at risk, even if it is a hokes.

OUT OF ORDER

chris
this was herd therd hand

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