Tesco criticised in the Commons - verbatim report

Today in the Commons...

Prime Minister's Question Time

Mr. Jim McGovern (Dundee, West) (Lab): Two weeks ago I attended an event at my local Tesco superstore to promote its involvement in Fairtrade fortnight, yet two days later, the company announced that it was shedding more than 400 jobs in my constituency, with no prior consultation with either local politicians or trade unions. I have since received correspondence from Tesco indicating that it knew about that decision for more than a year. Will the Prime Minister join me in reminding Tesco that fair trade should mean not only a fair price for the people who supply the tea, coffee and chocolate that the company sells, but a fair deal for the communities in which it locates and the people whom it employs?

The Prime Minister: I am sure that my hon. Friend is right, and I hope that any company faced with a situation where it has to make redundancies obeys the proper procedures. The information and consultation directive from Europe should assist in that process. Obviously, I do not know enough about the circumstances in the individual case that he raises, but I am happy to look into it for him.