The Unite union has issued a public challenge to Tesco CEO Terry Leahy at the company's AGM in Glasgow to personally meet exploited workers employed at companies which supply meat to his firm.
The union took the unusual route of tabling a motion at the AGM, calling for action to end the exploitation and discrimination of workers employed by companies in Britain and Ireland that supply meat to Tesco.
The motion was defeated by shareholders, but the point was made.
From the floor of the AGM, Unite deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said: "Will Terry Leahy personally meet with workers employed at companies that supply meat to Tesco to hear first hand how some workers are experiencing harsh and divisive conditions that in some cases are abusive?"
Mr Dromey also called on Mr Leahy to state whether he was prepared to work with the union to end what the described as discrimination in many parts of the supply chain.
He said that agency workers - overwhelmingly migrant - were on poorer conditions of employment, undercutting indigenous workers.
"The exploitation of migrant agency workers and undercutting of indigenous workers divides workplaces, damages community social cohesion and fuels racism," he stated.
"Now, we have taken their cause to the AGM of Tesco shareholders, holding Terry Leahy to account.
"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."
Protesters from Unite also demonstrated outside the AGM, brandishing flags and placards.
It is not the first time that allegations of human rights abuses have been levelled at Tesco.
Anti-poverty charity War on Want has accused the firm of paying sweat shop wages in the developing world while the global UNI union has accused Tesco of anti-union intimidation. Tesco has vigorously rejected the claims.
The concerns over temporary workers in the meat industry have sparked an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
A spokeswoman for the EHRC commented: "We are carrying out an inquiry, using our powers under section 16 of the Equality Act 2006, to look at how people working in the meat and poultry processing industry are recruited and treated once they are at work.
"We are particularly interested in any differences in pay and conditions of agency and temporary workers doing the same job as permanent employees."
Responding to the latest criticism, a Tesco spokesman said: "Temporary workers have been a feature of the agricultural and meat processing sectors since at least the second world war. Consumer demand for products changes which means there has to be flexibility.
"Our suppliers are independent businesses. But we apply - and audit against - robust standards for how all workers should be treated, regardless of their employment status or nationality.
"Unite should not be making unfounded allegations against responsible businesses or suggesting that Tesco has walked away from cross-industry endeavour, which is not the case." The EHRC investigation is still at the evidence-gathering stage and no fixed date has been set for its conclusion.
Morning Star - 03.07.09
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