London, June 30 - A trade union group criticised Tesco for its record on workers' rights in some foreign markets, days ahead of an anticipated AGM showdown between Britain's biggest retailer and a domestic union.
The UNI Tesco Global Union Alliance on Tuesday released reports criticising Tesco's labour practices in Thailand, South Korea and the United States, following local complaints.
According to the reports, Tesco coerced employees in Thailand and South Korea into working unpaid overtime, and refused to discuss the possibility of organised labour representation in the United States.
Tesco, which employs around 470,000 staff in 14 countries, said the reports were "a travesty".
"This is a politically motivated report paid for by a union which is trying to recruit more members," a Tesco spokesman said in a statement. "The allegations are untrue."
UNI said it has "good relations and regular dialogue" with French retail giant Carrefour and German supermarket group Metro but that Tesco had refused to meet or talk with UNI officials.
"Tesco's employment practices fall short of its published global labour principles in many countries. What we want to see is local consistency with Tesco's global standards, which is not happening at the moment," Alke Bossiger, the head of department for UNI's commerce unit told reports at a press conference.
The UNI's reports concern Tesco's 120 Fresh & Easy convenience stores in the United States, 476 Tesco Lotus shops in Thailand and 246 outlets in South Korea.
Tesco holds its annual general meeting (AGM) in Glasgow on Friday where it will face a resolution from Unite, Britain's largest trade union, to implement its policies on workers' rights more effectively.
The campaign is backed by corporate governance advisers Pirc.
Last year's AGM was dominated by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's campaign to improve chicken welfare, but only 9 percent of shareholders backed his resolution
Tesco reported a full-year pretax profit of 3.13 billion pounds ($5.2 billion) in April, 10 percent up on 2007-08.