Speaking in the European Parliament,
Alex Mayer – Labour MEP for East of England said: “I was recently with the trade union Usdaw outside a Lidl distribution centre; outside because the management won’t let UK unions in.
“There’s an unreasonable workload to achieve productivity targets. Lidl have a culture of health and safety that is only important after something goes wrong. These are direct quotes from worried workers. This isn’t new and there is a similar story to tell across Europe. Back in 2004 Ver.di published the black book on Lidl, exposing a low pay high fear culture. Lidl cannot be allowed to continue to expand at the expense of its workers, they need a voice through an independent trade union.
“And so my message to Lidl is, end your opposition to unions and meet with Usdaw. Talk about recognising them as the trade union for Lidl staff. Until you do that, we will continue campaigning outside your warehouses and stores. It’s time for a ‘Lidl’ more understanding.”
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary Elect says: “We are grateful to Alex for not only joining our campaigners outside the Lidl’s distribution centre in Enfield, but also taking the issue to the European Parliament.
“Support for our campaign is building and the company must understand that we are not going away just because they have made an unreasonable decision not to engage with and an independent trade union. The staff are telling our campaigners that they want Usdaw to be allowed into Lidl workplaces, despite the best efforts of the company to block us.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with around 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
The speech by Alex Mayer MEP can be viewed at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/EN/vod.html?mode=unit&vodLanguage=EN&vodId=1527543160443#
The
Black Book on Lidl was published by the German trade union Ver.di. It tells the stories of mainly German Lidl workers and lays bare the poor labour relations of the hard discounter present all over Europe.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion