Tesco

[Tarot]

I wonder how the Tesco workers feel about their work and wages, now their employers are talking about bringing in

cheap labour from The Ukraine.

They say no one here will take their jobs ,

Maybe the people here want a better rate of pay ,instead of a pittance.

Rent ,council tax,gas, electric,television licence,fares,telephones petrol,interest charges.insurance,FOOD.

People cant live on that kind of wage from a supermarket job.Ridiculous.

Its not that people dont want to work.they are not offering enough money.

Greedy Tesco,just want to get some other poor buggers from aboard to exploit,

Where would they live, in the storerooms.

All the people are lemons and we are just being sqeezed dry.

[Loz]

Out of interest... what are the wage levels that Tescos are offering?

[aspidistra]

"In business, Scientology is a very useful tool."

Terry Leahy, this afternoon on Radio 4.

Now it all falls into place.

[Annette Curtain]

Maybe....?

http://www.tescotown.co.uk/themes/modern/images/header750x100.jpg

[Huguenot]

I can't find the story Tarot, can you give us a link?

[Loz]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12722932

Tarot was getting a bit excited - it's Slovakian, not Ukranian (but all these pesky foreigners are the same, eh?).

They are offering the same wage rates as local workers, but don't state what these are (but must be at least minimum wage anyway). Apparently local workers don't want the jobs. According to Tesco, "At a new 24-hour store near Aberdeen, not one person applied to work nights."

[Huguenot]

And what the wind-up merchants didn't show was.... unemployment in Aberdeen is only 1.6%.

At that level, they could probably offer 2x or 3x minimum wage and still not fill the vacancies.

At that level, I'm guessing house prices are high and they're struggling to get low paid workers to relocate.

[Tarot]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I can't find the story Tarot, can you give us a

> link?

.............................................

Nette has the link.

[Tarot]

Loz. its not a case of pesky foreigners,but cheap labour.

Exploitation, of people in the world, isnt right,the big supermarkets make enormous profits, and it is not filtering down to the workers.

The big companies in the world are always finding the poorest people to exploit.

Taking the land to grow coffee and chocolate,when it should be used to grow their own food,and water for their own

people not tobacco crops

Loz your the excited one eager, to pull the race card.

For decades we have been givig donations to Africa, whats been done with it.By now Africa should be looking like Dubai, but its not.At least the people in the middle east arewaking up to it.

I dont get excited, just sick of people being used as pawns.

[Loz]

I'll ask again, Tarot... What are the wage levels Tesco's are offering? Or don't you know?

PS It's not my fault you can't differentiate between an Ukrainian and a Slovakian.

[Tarot]

Does it matter what nationality they are, they ,will not get a living wage.

The majority of people are not getting a living wage.

Its alright for people who are getting a decent salary.but not at five pound odd an hour.

[Loz]

I'll ask again, Tarot... What are the wage levels Tesco's are offering? Or don't you know?

[Tarot]

You must work for Tesco,s. the Rate is about six quid an hour,Bangladesh even lower.

I vill not answer any more of your quetions,Her Loz.

[Loz]

Tarot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> You must work for Tesco,s. the Rate is about six quid an hour,Bangladesh even lower.

So you don't know then.

> I vill not answer any more of your quetions,Her Loz.

Yeah, like you've answered any yet...

[zeban]

Tarot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Loz. its not a case of pesky foreigners,but cheap

> labour.

> Exploitation, of people in the world, isnt

> right,the big supermarkets make enormous profits,

> and it is not filtering down to the workers.

> The big companies in the world are always finding

> the poorest people to exploit.

> Taking the land to grow coffee and chocolate,when

> it should be used to grow their own food,and water

> for their own

> people not tobacco crops

> Loz your the excited one eager, to pull the race

> card.

> For decades we have been givig donations to

> Africa, whats been done with it.By now Africa

> should be looking like Dubai, but its not.At least

> the people in the middle east arewaking up to it.

> I dont get excited, just sick of people being used

> as pawns.

I'm with you on this one Tarot.

[Ridgley]

Ditto

[Tarot]

Go away Loz, its not a trial, doughnut.

[Loz]

Doughnut? :)) I'm hurt...

The point is not whether the sentiment of whether Doughhut... erm, Tarot is right or wrong. The point is that, armed with little in the way of facts (the only one he/she had still managed to get wrong) Tarot has leapt into a wild attack on Tescos. What are the wages, Tarot? "Dunno". What are the other benefits to working for Tesco, Tarot? "Dunno". Why are Tesco going all the way to Slovakia to recruit? "Because they are an evil corporate empire hell bent on destroying civilisation as we know it". How do you that, Tarot? "I read it on a website".

I don't mind a good debate, based on facts and well structured argument, but this is just a mindless, pointless, factless rant.

[Tarot]

Yes your right.people do rant.even you.

[Huguenot]

You guys are making me giggle.

[MrBen]

Aberdeen is an oil town and a major fishing port but it's oil and it's many related services that account for such a low unemployment rate. There's no other town in Scotland with an economy quite like it so to use it as a "typical" example of a Tesco location would be unfair.

I'll warrant they don't have this issue in Lincolnshire, Wales or Liverpool where you'll find many UK workers on the same wage.. Their solution is perfect fodder for the media appealing to the "they're stealing our jobs" thinking of a certain demographic.

[Loz]

More details on the story ...

The jobs are in London and are for a Tesco Express Store Manager and a Trainee Buyer. Hardly McJobs. I can't vouch for the accuracy of these figures (since I googled and found them on a random forum, rather than the original source), but these are the median salaries for similar roles at Tescos.

Supermarket Store Manager ?41,731

Retail Store Manager ?29,504

Department Manager, Retail Store ?23,997

Retail Store Manager, Grocery ?26,855

Duty Manager ?22,542

They seem like fairly decent salaries to me. Hardly "lemons being squeezed dry", anyway.

[Ridgley]

What about the minions like

Shelf stacker

Night workers

The till assistants

Customer service

They are mostly on minimum wage you can hardly live on that even if they are recruiting from the eastern block like most retail companies the fat cat gets fatter the workers get thinner.

[david_carnell]

So your problem is with the minimum wage then, not Tesco at all.

Zeban, Tarot, Ridgely - if you could put together a coherent argument people might give you the time of day but you just mumble some regurgitated "facts" and wonder why others ignore or belittle you.

Secondly, with free movement of labour across the EU people are free to seek employment wherever they choose. And quite right too.

You three seem to be tilting at windmills here without even understanding the details or the macro picture.

[Loz]

But you are attacking the symptoms, not the disease. If Tesco's, Sainburys and the rest disappeared tomorrow then something exactly the same would replace them. Why? Because that is what the British people want - food and goods at the lowest possible prices.

You could picket Tesco's and put together campaigns highlighting their wage levels, but when you consider that 1 in 8 pounds spent in the UK on retail goods are spent at Tescos then you can understand why the people who run the company think they are doing something right.

It's not Tescos fault - they are just giving the people of the UK what they want. Put together a supermarket chain that pays what you would argue is a 'decent' wage and nobody will shop there. Nobody. I mean, how many people nodding their head to Tarot's rantings refuse to step foot EVER into a major supermarket. Unless you can say that, then YOU are the problem, not Tescos, because you are tacitly approving everything they do by shopping there.

I'm not saying it can't be done in small doses - the success of the Fairtrade brand shows that some people will pay higher prices for some goods sometimes where the producer does not get screwed. But if you try and extend that to all goods every day then you will fail.