I raise again the issue of Tesco, which I raised yesterday on the Order of Business. Senators received further correspondence from the company yesterday evening. I have just left a meeting with Mandate and, as an experienced trade unionist, I am genuinely shocked by what I heard at first hand from Mandate members about the levels of intimidation meted out to them.

People have been called into offices to be told that their only choice is redundancy or to take the new terms. Some with 20 years of loyal service have been called in a second time and been presented with flowers, wine and a "Thank you" card to be told that they are leaving. That is a fact. It is happening to the people in question.

We have received two letters from Tesco full of propaganda. Mandate made a simple request, namely, that each of us as elected representatives write back and ask the company whether it will agree not to implement these changes without the agreement of the workers. Let us not forget that those concerned are the longest serving staff members in Tesco with over 20 years' experience and are in some cases, after all that time, earning the princely sum of €14 per hour. We must put the matter in context. Yesterday, we rightly raised the issue of 500 job losses at Hewlett Packard. I was not aware that Tesco had done away with 900 permanent jobs in the past year, to be replaced by precarious work. We are discussing a dumbing down of the retail sector, a race to the bottom. This is a pure example of what is happening. Tesco is the largest private sector employer in the State. No one in the Chamber approves of what is happening. I ask all Senators to take action today and send a clear message to Tesco to leave its loyal workers alone. I hope every Senator will stand with Mandate and its workers in their courageous stand for decent work. Will the Leader invite the Minister to come to the House urgently? The largest private sector employer in the State is behaving disgracefully.

Well said.

In the light of the events in Dáil Éireann yesterday, will the Leader or the Leas-Chathaoirleach circulate a note on parliamentary privilege? Members have a unique right and privilege that we should take very seriously before putting anything on the record. Once something is said in this or the Lower House, it sets off a certain course of events.

We are fortunate that our right of parliamentary privilege was upheld in a recent court case. That should make us focus further on doing what is right and proper. We all listened to "Morning Ireland" today. Unfortunately for that Member of the Lower House, it was one of his worst ever interviews and he could not really defend the situation that had evolved in that House. I would not like to see any Senator finding himself or herself in that situation. We must be cognisant of our responsibilities as regards parliamentary privilege.

I also wish to represent the Mandate members in Tesco. I attended this morning's briefing and, like Senator Paul Gavan, was shocked. I was shocked on one front more than any, namely, by how the company was openly distributing letters to staff urging them to leave the union. That was a new low.

I have been involved in the trade union movement since I was a child, but I have never seen what is happening in this form. This is about the defence of workers who, as we all accept, are in jobs that are not very well paid, work long and unsocial hours and need protection. Based on the correspondence that we received this morning from Ms Heffernan representing Tesco, they need a great deal of attention. I add my voice to the call to have the Minister, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, attend the House next week.

Yesterday, I brought the House up to date with the situation in the greyhound industry. I am sorry to say that next Saturday's race meeting in Shelbourne Park and the national awards have been cancelled. Something about Nero, fiddling and burning comes to mind. I have been alerting the Leader, the House and the Minister to this matter for nearly two and a half weeks, but the Minister still has not addressed it outside or within the House. The greyhound industry fully supports the current campaign. In the coming weeks, there will be a large general meeting of greyhound owners and breeders and those with an interest in the industry. Sooner or later, the Government will have to introduce the legislation to clean up the industry that it has been promising for six months. I call on the Leader to schedule a debate on the industry next week with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.