The conflict between Tesco and its Polish employees is heating up, the daily Puls Biznesu reports, with the British retailer announcing it will not accept union demands for higher pay. The Polish division of Tesco agreed to a 3.5-percent employee pay hike beginning in November, which will push minimum monthly salaries to PLN 2,400. But Tesco’s trade unions are demanding a 10- to 15-percent increase. “The employer claims that low inflation, as well as challenging market conditions, is making it impossible to provide larger raises, but it hasn’t provided any precise figures or reports supporting these claims,” Elżbieta Jakubowska, president of the Solidarność trade union, told the daily Puls Biznesu. She adds that according to union estimates Tesco can afford to pay its workers much more.
With 450 locations around the country, Tesco employs more more than 30,000 in Poland, generating about PLN 11bn in revenues each year. “Poland is doing well compared to other European markets. And if it can afford new real estate investments on its home market, it can afford to invest into its employees,” said Jakubowska. Tesco said it will continue talks with unions at the beginning of September.
