The threat of industrial action causing empty shelves at Tesco this Christmas has escalated after workers at a further nine distribution centres voted to strike.
Usdaw members at the nine DCs are set to join Unite members already planning walkouts at another four.
It means more than half of Tesco’s 22 DCs are threatened with disruption in the days leading to Christmas.
The dispute is over a 4% pay rise offer, upped from an earlier offer of 2.5%, which the unions say remains too low in light of inflation and DC workers’ efforts during the pandemic.
Usdaw members at DCs in Daventry, Goole, Hinckley, Lichfield, Livingston, Peterborough, Southampton and two sites in Magor will stop working from 20 December to Christmas Eve, the union said.
It follows an announcement from Unite on Monday (6 December) that its members would stage walkouts over the Christmas period in Didcot in Oxfordshire, Doncaster, and Antrim and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Usdaw has over 5,000 members at the nine latest affected sites, where two separate ballots resulted in votes of 73% and 84% in favour of industrial action.
“We hope the company is listening and that they will return to the negotiating table with a better deal that is acceptable to our members,” said Usdaw national officer Joanne McGuinness.
“Retail distribution workers are key workers who delivered essential services throughout the pandemic, which in turn delivered a 16.5% increase in profit to Tesco for the first half of the year.
“These workers deserve a decent pay rise as their reward for what they have done and continue to do day in, day out. Couple that with the rising cost of living and inflation currently running at 6%, the company needs to do better.
“Industrial action and possible stock shortages in stores in the week before Christmas can be avoided. It needs the company to engage positively in talks with Usdaw and we stand ready to reopen negotiations.”
Tesco has said the pay offer is one of the highest awards made in its distribution business in the last 25 years, and it has contingency plans in place to mitigate disruption.
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