Tesco Ireland management agree to meet Mandate Trade Union over proposed internship scheme

Monday 19 September 2011

Company agrees to remove internship advertisements pending outcome of meeting with Mandate

The Mandate Trade Union has today said that Tesco Ireland management has agreed to meet the union this week to discuss the union’s concerns over the company’s proposal to offer 146 six-month sales assistant internships under the Government’s Jobsbridge initiative. Mandate Trade Union represents over 45,000 retail workers in Ireland.

Mandate’s Assistant General Secretary, Gerry Light, said that pending the outcome of this meeting, Tesco has agreed to remove the ads for the proposed 146 sales assistant internships. Mr Light then went on to set out his union’s concerns over the proposed internships.

“It appears to us that the proposed placements seem to be against the spirit and terms of the Jobsbridge programme. In particular, one has to ask the question whether it really requires six months to make an individual ‘job ready’ when the company’s own training programme for permanently contracted employees in these roles is conducted over a two-week period.”

Mr Light pointed out that the six-month period over which the proposed internships were due to take place happens to coincide with Tesco’s busiest trading period. He also said that while the company is claiming there will be no displacement of jobs as a result of the proposed 146 internships, the same cannot be said in relation to the hours of work – and consequential earning levels – of many of Tesco’s current workforce.

“We are particularly concerned about the impact of the proposed internships on the working hours available to Tesco staff who are currently on the bottom of their contracted hours. From what we can gather, the proposed internships will see available hours being given away at no additional cost to the company. It’s also important to be clear that these internships for working with one of the world’s wealthiest companies – with estimated profits in Ireland last year of €300 million – will be totally funded by the Irish social welfare system and Irish taxpayers. The question has to be asked is this fair or appropriate,” Gerry Light concluded.