TESCO - EVERY LITTLE HELPS!

In Monmouth constituency, in Chepstow, Tesco is throwing its weight around with an ultimatum to its workers at the Tesco Distribution Centre at Newhouse Farm Industrial Estate in Chepstow – where workers have been given a stark choice of accepting pay freezes and relocation of their jobs or losing their jobs.

Tesco’s attitude towards its existing employees is appalling and unacceptable; with some staff at the Tesco Distribution Centre at Newhouse Farm Industrial Estate in Chepstow facing the possibility of redundancy or even eight year pay freezes as part of the transfer deal to a new distribution centre at Piling near Bristol.

While Tesco workers who sign up have been told that they will get their Severn Bridge tolls paid for two years but not thereafter and that the consequences of not signing up to the new deal could lead to redundancy.

The workers at Tesco would be in a better position to defend their jobs if the late Prime Minister Tony Blair or his successor Gordon Brown had actually signed the European Social Chapter, which gives workers better protection and protects their rights, sadly new labour never signed the chapter.

By strange coincidence Tesco is also listed by the Electoral Commission as a small but regular donator of cash / funds to the Labour Party, between 11^th March 2003 and 30^th October 2008, Tesco donated £73,664 pounds in cash to the Labour Party. In the same period the Liberal Democrats got around £28,000 from Tesco.

In view of Tesco’s behaviour and the fact that Tesco is looking to up sticks from Chepstow and relocate to Piling near Bristol, the National Assembly should explore the possibility of reclaiming or recovering any Welsh Development Agency or Assembly funding that Tesco may have received to help expand and develop their distribution centre at Chepstow over the years.

Doing a moonlight flit with if public money is involved is not an acceptable option - any Welsh Government or WDA funding should be reclaimed from Tesco, especially as they are relocating out of Wales.