RACISM IN TESCO!

Does racism exists in Tesco?
Is Tesco is a fair minded employer?

For those, who live outside UK and read this article, I would like to mention here that TESCO is the largest retailer in Europe and second largest retailer in the world, next to WALMART, USA.

I narrate a story which involves to an individual. Then You can make up you own enlightened conclusion.

This happened in one of the rural town of SOUTH WEST of England (Cotswold), where not many ethinic minority live and work. For an example, our man is the first ethinic Indian man in 600 years of its history to live in a town nearby. He was the first ethinic Indian to join in the local Tesco in 2000 and he was the first and apparently last ethinic Indian to become a Section Manager of the town branchs (There are two) of TESCO.

This gentleman was working for Tesco for almost four years. During his tenure of employment, he faced many insults and taunts for being an Indian. However, because of his single mindedness in job, he ignored many of the insults and taunts and continued to do his duty.

He was called as "Stowaway!". Even though he was legally came into UK, (Not an asylum seeker!)he used to be taunted in this way. Well.. People are people. So he ignored them and continue to work. In the beginning his English use to have lot of Asian accent, which people use laugh. He slowly learned the local slang and accent. Even though he was a graduate with lots of overseas managerial experience, initially he was still offered the shop floor assistant job. This man happily took that job and performed well. Then with in three months he applied for the section manager job during an internal recruitment drive and was successfully made as Section manager.

It was after this, many staffs in Tesco started showing their true colour. Outwardly, they will talk against racial discrimination, but when it comes to listening to an Asian Manager, they started forming a clique and refused to listen to him. This went on in other nearby branches also where this gentleman was transferred, due to the so called policy. (The strange thing is that this policy was vigorously implemented only on this person.) The senior managers turned a very blind eye towards this issue. Only the personnel Managers tried to do something about the attitudes of the staffs. Even in that, one personnel manager, simply joined with the staffs in cornering this man. It was a very shameful acts. The other senior managers or General managers were not interested and they don't want enter this murky issues. They were too scared and too much worried about their future prospects. Since all the General manager and senior managers in any Tesco branch are transferred regularly (usually after 2 years) they just want to complete their term and move on. I don't blame them for not confronting this thorny issue.

But our man soldered on. But after four years, it become too much. There was no support from the company. Since every thing is done through the local General Manager and the local general managers are indifferent, our man's desperation took the toll. With his personal life is affected by his professional pressure he decided that enough is enough.

So one day, he resigned.

THE STORY DOESN'T END HERE. It begins.

After four years, when his personal life is much better organised, he thought of going back to full time employment in TESCO again. Because, he saw a vacancy board in the local tesco calling in applications for the section Manager posts.

He thought that he will be an ideal candidate. So he applied. Of the two branches he applied, one (Swindon) didn't even bother to reply. But the other branch called him for the interview.

The personal manager took the interview. I give below the transcripts of the conversation between our man and the manager.




----------------------CONVERSATION BEGINS:-------------------

PERSONAL MANAGER: Listen ..I…I mean..we…are from different culture and you are from the different culture and do you agree! (She started this with “we” and “You” clearly reminding that he is not one of them, even though she knows that our man is British by choice)

OUR MAN: Of course.

PM: I have a nagging feeling that you are not comfortable with working under woman’s authority. Or working with women. Is that right?

OM: No…It is wrong. I am a professional and I don’t discriminate on basis of gender and I have no bias against women.

PM: But you see. I don’t know how it is in your culture. But here in …in this part of the world everybody is same.

OM: True. I fully understand that and you know I am British as well. You know, even in my culture, we do respect women and there are millions of women working in various positions in the various sectors, like Bank, Government offices, and politics etc. Personally in the past also I have worked with many women. Even when I was working in Tesco, when some of my colleagues make fun of women, I use to correct them or I don’t subscribe those views. More over, I was identified and recruited by a female manager and I started my career in Tesco under a female manager, hence how I can I have bias against women?. Therefore, I still don’t understand why you are suspecting that I may not be comfortable in working with or under women. Your question is total surprise to me.
Is there any basis for this question?

PM: No..no.Don’t bother..I think that I have a touched a sensitive point there.

OM: NO..NO..You are trying to mean that I have something to hide and that is the reason, I am trying to give a huge explanation. But honestly, I don’t know how you got this idea. In fact, till you started this subject, I never felt that I was speaking and discussing with a women. In the sense, that I am totally focused about this interview, all I was thinking is that I am talking to a personnel manager of an establishment. Your gender did not come to my mind at all.

OM: NEVER MIND..FORGET THIS QUESTION.

---------------END OF THIS PART.-- ----------


After this diabolical interview our man was rejected, under a pretext that he is in short of some qualities to become a manager.

My questions are very straight and simple.

1. In any circumstances such questions will ever be asked to an European? NO

2. Is this a normal way of interview in Tesco? I don't think so.

3. Is is correct to create a racial profiling on the basis of assumptions? NO

4. Can TESCO getaway doing such things? YES.

How come a person who was a competent enough to become a manager some four years suddenly become "short of qualities"? If so, either our man should have been recruited wrongly and promoted wrongly in the first place, OR Tesco should have raised their bar. Our man's performance could not be questioned since every senior manager who worked with him appreciated his work. In their advertisement for Section Managers, they very clearly state that they invite applications from persons who have little or no experience in retail. All they seek is a person with a passion for retail. They proclaim that full training will be given.

In this circumstances, how come our man with so much experience in retail and that too in TESCO itself become unsuitable.?

After the above mentioned conversation withe personal Manager, Our man feels that he was refused of the job, because he was not WHITE and the personnel manager is racially prejudiced.

After this unpleasant experience our man wrote to the head office seeking clarification.

The reply from the head office was very much delayed and a person started talking to our
man over the phone. (Understand one thing here....Nothing in writing..just talk.) Then TESCO Cleverly used this time of communication to delay our man's wish to complain to the employment tribunal. He was told to wait. But the tesco executive went on a holiday and the time was running out. Then after couple of more conversation and letters, finally Tesco wrote to him that they did not do anything wrong. They refuse take responsibility for the actions of
their personnel manager. They even claimed that there is nothing wrong in questioning our man's ethnic culture. It is outrageous.

By this time, the time limit for appealing / Complaining in employment tribunal has gone.

Is this fair? Is it the way corporate body should handle such issues?
What kind of message the company is sending it across their own staff?

Will it not make the staff to feel that it is ok to discriminate a person on the basis of his ethnicity?
Is it the way Tesco should treat its ex employee?

Our man has neither the resources and nor the money power to take on this Retail Giant to the
court for their injustice.

He could not hire the publicity guru's Max clifford to publicize his case.

So what he can do?

He can talk to me and I felt that it is correct to put it in the Internet forum.
Even though this may not reach the wide audiance, still few people with some sense will see and understand.

If any good things can come out this, then my write up has served its purpose.