Tesco was bracing itself for further strike action as The Grocer went to press. Drivers are due to stage a 24-hour strike at Tesco's Livingston depot in Scotland on Tuesday little more than a week after the T&G's last three-day strike.

The union, which is fighting changes to pay and conditions and its derecognition at the depot, is also trying to galvanise support for a nationwide strike.

A T&G spokesman said it was difficult to determine the cost of last week's strike, but claimed it could cost Tesco millions of pounds.

"A source within Tesco says they are talking of £3m, which we assume includes the cost of lost sales," he said, estimating it would cost about £550,00 for extra contractors to cover the strike and the layoff. The retailer banned participating drivers from coming back to work for a seven-day "cooling off" period.

The union claimed availability in stores had been hit hard by the strike as only 25% of normal truckloads were able to leave the depot.

Checks by The Grocer's mystery shoppers in several Tesco stores indicated that the availability of fruit and vegetables, frozen and cooked meats was patchy in stores across Scotland.

But Tesco claimed that the strike had no impact on stores and only 65 drivers were involved. "The union is putting it about that it's cost us thousands simply to divert attention from the strike's failure to 'empty' shelves as they'd threatened," said a spokesman.

Meanwhile, the union reacted angrily to Tesco's announcement that there would be no jobs for drivers who failed to sign new terms and conditions when the depot was relocated nearby in July.

The move was criticised during in the Scottish Parliament this week. "I deprecate the sacking of people during an industrial dispute," said First Minister Alex Salmond. "It's better for the parties to get round the table than to work in a climate of conflict."

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