Tesco has agreed to reopen talks with Usdaw after members across its distribution centres voted overwhelmingly to go on strike from December 20.
The grocery giant has reopened discussions with the shopworkers’ union Usdaw about pay and working conditions for its warehouse staff after the majority of 5,000 workers across nine distribution centres voted to walk off the job for four days starting December 20.
While Usdaw welcomed Tesco’s return to the negotiating table, it said no agreement had yet been reached and reiterated that the planned action is still set to take place.
The two disputes involve over 5,000 Usdaw members at nine Tesco distribution centres in: Daventry Clothing, Goole, Hinckley, Lichfield, Livingston, Magor (both trunk and main sites), Peterborough and Southampton.
Usdaw national officer Joanne McGuiness said: “We welcome Tesco’s offer of further talks, which start tomorrow, and we will engage positively to seek a resolution to this dispute.
“Industrial action is always a last resort for our members. We sincerely hope that fresh negotiations can result in an acceptable offer from the business to avoid possible stock shortages in stores in the week before Christmas.”
The planned industrial action is the latest in a string of strike threats by distribution and warehouse workers over the last few weeks.
Only yesterday, representatives of the GMB union threatened Asda with possible strike action from its warehouse workers. While Morrisons agreed a pay rise to avert the threat of strike action from 1,100 of its warehouse staff.
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