Tesco faces meat worker protest

Adverts comparing the cost of shopping at Tesco with two other supermarkets were misleading, the advertising watchdog said

About 40 protesters have called on Tesco to press for a better deal for thousands of workers employed by firms that supply it with meat.

The Unite union members demonstrated outside Tesco's annual general meeting (AGM).

In what is claimed to be a first for a British trade union, Unite has tabled a resolution for the company's AGM in Glasgow.

Deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said before the meeting: "There are two questions that Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy must answer.

"Are you personally prepared to meet agency workers from your meat factories so you can hear first-hand of the grim reality of life at work?

"And are you prepared to sit down with Unite and end discrimination in your supply chain?

"The time has come to listen and act."

The union said 50,000 workers for meat producers that supply Tesco - particularly agency and migrant workers - get a raw deal.

Grievances include poor pay, especially for agency workers, and compulsory overtime.

Mr Dromey said: "There is clear evidence of exploitation of migrant agency workers with poorer conditions and pay, and undercutting indigenous workers.