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Friday July 3, 10:36 AM
Tesco Faces Exploitation Protests At AGM

By © Sky News 2009

Tesco Faces Exploitation Protests At AGM
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Protesters have gathered at Tesco's annual meeting in Glasgow, calling on the chain to end what they call the "exploitation and discrimination" of workers.

The Unite union is to table a resolution in support of a workers employed by firms in the UK and Ireland that supply meat to the firm.

The calls are part of the union's long-running campaign claiming that some staff in Tesco's supply chain work in "harsh and divisive" conditions.

The union believes structural discrimination exists whereby mostly migrant agency staff are taken on under poorer conditions of employment, undercutting indigenous workers.

Deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said: "The exploitation of migrant agency workers and undercutting of indigenous workers divides workplaces, damages community social cohesion and fuels racism.

"Now we take their cause to the AGM of Tesco shareholders, holding (Tesco chief executive) Terry Leahy to account."

Mr Dromey went on: "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."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is conducting an inquiry into the UK's multibillion-pound meat industry in England and Wales for evidence of employment abuse and discrimination.

Tesco said it welcomed the review, in which it was fully participating, adding that the issues were industry-wide.

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