9.500 Tesco staff to strike

All Tesco supermarkets in the Irish Republic were due to be closed today by a strike involving 9,500 members of its workforce.

The stoppage was going ahead following the breakdown of talks by involving Irish Labour Court conciliators in a dispute over pay.

The closure affects 76 stores and will cost Tesco an estimated £4m.

The management claimed last night that the strike was unnecessary because they had made a pay rise offer of up to 4% on top of 7.5% fixed by Ireland’s national wages agreement.

But Mandate, one of the trade unions involved, claimed the company had failed to table adequate proposals.

Dunnes Stores said they would extend their opening hours to meet anticipated extra demand.