A trade union group has attacked Tesco over its treatment of workers in its overseas stores.
The UNI Tesco Global Union Alliance has issued reports criticising Tesco's labour practices in South Korea, Thailand and the US, following local complaints.
Tesco is accused of refusing to discuss the possibility of organised labour representation in the US and coerced employees in Thailand and South Korea into working unpaid overtime.
The UK number-one retailer is accused of firing workers who wanted to form a union and making employees work 24-hour shifts in Thailand; forcing employees in South Korea to work up to 20 hours a week on unpaid overtime and made the leaders of a company union resign for settling a long-running labour dispute.
The UNI also said Tesco only employed part-time workers in the US, thereby preventing employees from earning a living wage, and rejected a legitimate recognition request to form a union in one California store.
The reports concern the chain's 476 Tesco Lotus shops in Thailand, 246 outlets in South Korea and 120 Fresh & Easy convenience stores in the US.
The union said it had "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, which employs around 470,000 staff in 14 countries, said the reports were "a travesty" and "misrepresent the truth".
A spokesman for the retailer said in a statement: "This is a politically motivated report paid for by a union which is trying to recruit more members. The allegations are untrue.
"The allegations made in this report are not something Usdaw would recognise in relation to Tesco."
Usdaw, which represents many of Tesco's staff in Britain, said it had a good working relationship with the firm.
Alke Bossiger, the head of department for UNI's commerce unit, told reporters at a press conference: "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.”
Tesco is due to hold its annual general meeting in Glasgow on Friday where it will be asked to examine its policies on workers' rights more effectively.
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