Labour Court calls for talks on Tesco part-time hours agreement

The Labour Court recommended that Tesco Ireland, Mandate and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union negotiate clearer alternatives to reducing part-time workers’ hours below their established bands. The recommendation was signed on 24 June 2010. The unions said Tesco had reduced hours without following the agreements or discussing alternatives; Tesco said it acted because of economic pressures and retail competition. The Court said hours should be cut below established bands only as an extreme measure where no viable alternatives existed, but the agreements did not clearly define those alternatives. It called for negotiations lasting up to three months, after which unresolved matters could return to the Court.