A Man of the Left

With the news that Tesco have annexed 6 Somerfield shops on the Scottish islands, Harrogate in Yorkshire has become the last postcode in the UK unoccupied by Tesco.

Tesco now controls 30% of the grocery market in the UK. In 2007, the supermarket chain announced over £2.5 billion in profits. Growing evidence indicates that Tesco’s success is partly based on trading practices that are having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide, local shops and the environment.

“I get 378 Rand [£32.50] pay every two weeks. I can’t afford school fees for my daughter or go to school functions or buy school uniforms”

- Tawana Fraser, who works as a ‘permanent casual’ labourer on a pear farm that supplies Tesco (ActionAid)“They called us all to a meeting and they said that we would all be laid off the next day. Then they rehired us for almost half the wages. We used to have almost a month holiday but this went down to 14 days”

Seriously of the thousands of companies that have produced cars over the years less then a few dozen remain. The fundamental principle of the free market that competition is best for consumers ignores the erosion of the market share held by small and medium businesses and the ever increasing domination of mega-corporations. While anti-trust and anti-monopoly laws are have been put in place it is ever more visible that the big boys run the playground.

Similarly when Reg Empey recently announced 8 days additional holidays onto the statutorury minimun (down from 10 additional days promised by Woodward) the Confederation of British Industries and the Federation of Small Businesses bleated out the line that it would be damaging to the economy.Does anyone really believe that a few extra days holiday a year is a danger to Northern Irelands economy?