Lidl-Kampagne

Kampagnenbro
Agnes Schreieder
Nadine Telemann
Nicole Heroven
Daniela 8ollres
Paula-Thiede-Uler !0
D-!0!79 8erlin
T. +49-30-6956-2736
l. +49-30-6956-3872
lidl-aklionverdi.de
hllp.//www.lidl.verdi.de/
ackground In!ormaIion "Iack ook on LidI in Europe"
8erlin, 27.06.2006. One and a haI! year a!Ier Ihe presenIaIion o! Ihe German
Iack ook on LidI Ihe UniIed 5ervice Union ver.di pubIishes !urIher hoI
!acIs abouI LidI and Ihe 5chvarz Group. for Ihe Iack ook on LidI in
Europe, pubIished on 1une 27
Ih
2006, auIhor Andreas Hamann and his
inIernaIionaI research Ieam have compiIed in!ormaIion hov Ihis agressiveIy
expanding discounIer acIs in European counIries.
Agressive Expansion
ln 23 Luropean counlries lhe Schwarz Croup is presenl wilh ils Lidl and Kaulland
slores. The number ol slores has increased in 2005 aboul 600 lo nearly 7400, 50'
ol ils 40 billion Luro lurnover is made abroad. Wilh il lhe Schwarz Croup has
exlended ils lead lor compelilor Aldi. Mosl slores oulside Cermany Lidl runs in
lrance (!250), lollowed by Spain (390), Creal 8rilain (385) and llaly (320).
Compared lo lhe size ol lhe counlry Lidl is also presenl all over lhe counlry in
8elgium (240) and lhe Nelherlands (2!0). ln Poland Lidl had run al lhe beginning ol
lhis year !50 slores, addilional 50 slores are planned lo open unlil lhe end 2006.
Wilh ils expansion Lidl is nol only exporling lhe unilorm design ol lhe Lidl slores.
Numerous reporls ol employees lrom packing slall lo managemenl make il clear
lhal Lidl also wanls lo eslablish ils company cullure in lhe new markels. Mercyless
work pressure, permanenl shorlage ol slall, small wages, enormous general
pressure and unlair checks, lhal's whal employees experience daily also abroad
lrom linland lo llaly, lrom Porlugal lo Poland.
LidI. AccepIing ruIes, buI pIay on even IiIIIe scope
Lidl seems lo adapl lo lhe prevailing legal and economic slandards ol each counlry.
Where lrade unions nalurally belong lo lhe polilical cullure and are nol only
occasional negolialion parlners lor inslance in Norway, Denmark or 8elgium Lidl
usually keeps lhe rules ol lhe game, accepls co-delerminalion bodies and signs
colleclive agreemenls wilh lrade union represenlalives. 8ul when il sees lhe chance
lo downgrade slandards, Lidl is grapping lhis opporlunily. So in 8elgium where Lidl
managemenl relers lo "hardly any margin" lor addilional colleclive benelils lor
lrank de Vos lrom lhe 8elgian lrade union L8C-NVK lhis behaviour is owed lo lhe
compelilion wilh Aldi as well as lo slricl orders lrom lhe Cerman head quarler.
CenIraI direcIives !rom NeckarsuIm
All direclives slriclly come lrom Neckarsulm allhough Lidl always prelends lhal
loreign slores are nol parl ol lhe Cerman parenl company. However, lhe
managemenl slall is cenlrally recruiled in Cermany also lor lhe european
alliliales. Moreover, employees in several counlries reler in lheir reporls lo regular
"visils" lrom Cermany and lhal in lheir lead up lhe slores regularly have lo be
cleaned lo high gloss.
LidI avaiIs o! IighI job markeI - 5evere vioIaIions o! Iabour Iavs
Where lhe unemploymenl rale is high and lhus workers do nol dare lo crilicise or lo
demand lheir righls Lidl has a walk-over. ln Poland inspeclors ol lhe slale labour
aulhorilies regislered numerous deliciencies and breaches ol law. Nearly all over lhe
counlry lhey delecled violalions ol lhe compulsory resl periods one Kaulland
worker reporled a 25,5 hours non-slop work shill. Lxlra hours are hardly ever paid
and working lime is only imprecisely regislered, salely al work and heallh proleclion
slep behind prolil.
ResisIance is possibIe. Workers unionise
Workers are able lo resisl il lhey sland up lor lheir righls logelher wilh lheir union.
This exemplily workers in llalian and lrench Lidl slores. ln bolh counlries workers
improved lheir working condilions by slrikes and widely based solidarily. ln llaly lhe
prolesl againsl conlrols and moniloring helped lo close lhe workers' ranks. linally
lhey achieved quile posilive resulls in dillicull colleclive bargaining.
ln lrance lhe longesl slrike in lhe hislory ol relail lrade has emerged oul ol Lidl's
praclice lo gel rid ol inconvenienl employees wilh lhe help ol conslrucled
accusalions ol lhell. The employees' success was owed lo lheir persislence and lhe
greal solidarily lhey experienced. Nol only lhe dismissals ol lhe accused workers
were cancelled bul also negolialions lor wage increases and beller working
condilions had been slarled. 8ul mosl imporlanl. lhe respecl ol human dignily and
lhe righl lo unionise was codilied lor lhe lirsl lime.
ln Scandinavia where workers lradilionally are well organised and lrade unions have
a slrong posilion il is much more dillicull lor Lidl lo breach colleclive agreemenls
and salely-al-work rules. Allenlion is loo high, violalions are, like in Denmark,
promplly avenged.
Pressure, humiIiaIion and inIimidaIion aIso in managemenI
Slyle ol managemenl al Lidl and Kaulland abroad is like in Cermany aulhorilarian
and direcled lowards inlimidalion ol employees lo lorce even higher perlormance.
A Polish shop assislanl ol a Lidl slore described lhe lone ol supervisors againsl slall
as "ollending and vulgar". Lven in Sweden employees lalk aboul "psychic lerror"
al lhe work place.
This apparenlly also applies lor parls ol lhe managemenl. A young graduale in
business sludies reporls in lhe 8lack 8ook aboul her experiences as a lrainee
manager and how she was obviously syslemalically humilialed. Presumably lo
enlorce loyally lo lhe company and also lo prepare her lo lreal lhe lulure
subordinales in lhe same way. Meanwhile she has resigned.
5ancIimony. organic bananas, fare-Irade co!!ee and !ascisI guards.
Aller some organic producls had been included in lhe assorlmenl in March 2006,
Lidl since June also sells eighl lair-lrade producls bolh reaclions on lhe recenl
scandals on poisoned vegelables and public crilicism lrom ver.di, Allac, Creenpeace,
8analair and consumer organisalions. Lidl seek lo regain losl lrusl ol consumers.
Al lhe same lime lhis ellorls remain only al lhe surlace because Lidl has nol made
any changes regarding social righls ol ils employees and also Allac has assessed lhis
small changes in lhe producl lield as insullicienl. Lven wilh lhe lew Translair
producls lheir produclion hislory and origin remain in lhe dark. Organic and lair-
lrade producls only serve as a lig leave and as image cosmelics.
Oulslanding problemalically Lidl acled in Spain. Unlil recenlly Lidl slores in Valencia
had been guarded by a company which is unambiguously parl ol a lascisl nelwork.
On inquiry in lhe headquarler in Neckarsulm company speaker Thomas Oberle
expressed his conslernalion he prelended lhal lhis relalion had been unknown
and announced lhal lhe collaboralion wilh lhe securily company Levanlina would
be cancelled lhis very monlh, June 2006. This lale reaclion is even more aslonishing
regarding lhe conlrol Lidl managemenl usually exercises even on lhe mosl dislanl
parls ol lhe company.
Expansion in EasI-Europe. uesIionabIe !inancing
The Schwarz Croup expands lasl, especially in Laslern Lurope. Kaulland and Lidl
slores spring up like mushrooms, displace small and medium lrade and sel up
exislenlial pressure on local suppliers. All lhe more il is aslounding lhal since 2004
lhe lnlernalional linance Corporalion (llC), parl ol lhe World 8ank Croup, and lhe
Luropean 8ank lor Peconslruclion and Developmenl (L8PD) have linanced lhe
expansion ol lhe Schwarz Croup wilh hundreds ol millions Luro. Crileria lor credils
are according lo llC own accounls "lo supporl suslainable privale inveslmenls in
emerging counlries lo help lo reduce poverly and improve lile".
The way lhe Schwarz Croup "lighls poverly" is assessed crilically by experls. ln
parlicular in Poland and Czech Pepublic Wesl-Luropean relail gianls like lhe
Schwarz Croup will inlillrale in rural areas slep by slep. This will generale enormous
pressure on lhe exisling lradilional lrading slruclures, smaller compelilors will be
lorced oul ol business and concenlralion in relail lrade will increase. The L8PD did
nol slop lhe linance ol Lidl's expansion in Poland even as lhe slale labour
aulhorilies had delecled numerous violalions ol salely-al-work laws and social
righls and despile slrong prolesl ol lhe bank crilical nelwork CLL.
NCOs like Allac, Creenpeace, WLLD and Terre des Hommes also have crilicised lhe
llC praclice ol linance a lol ol backed projecls would lead lo environmenlal
devaslalion, poverly and increasing social inequalily.
GIobaIisaIion and soIidariIy
The 2004 black book on Lidl which had disclosed lhe grievances in Cerman Lidl
slores had also mel on lhe inleresl ol loreign readers amongsl lhem numerous
Lidl employees who have conlacled ver.di and are inleresled in collaboralion wilh
lheir Luropean colleagues. Also olher Luropean lrade unions have reporled lheir
experiences wilh Lidl and have allended al lhe Luropean day ol aclion on 8
lh
March
2006, lhe lnlernalional Woman's Day.
The black book Lidl is nol only an invenlory. Lmanaled lrom common experiences
and co-operalion across lhe borders, il is palhbreaking lowards inlensive and
successlul collaboralion ol employees and lheir lrade unions in Lurope.
lor lurlher inlormalion on Lidl and lhe Lidl-campaign ol ver.di look al
hIIp.llIidI.verdi.de and al Lidl-weblog. hIIp.llvvv.verdi-bIog.delIidI
Schwarz-8uch Lidl Luropa, 8erlin 2006, Cerman edilion, ca. !40 pages.
ver.di gmbh medien buchhandel verlag, Paula Thiede Uler !0, D !0!79 8erlin.
9.90 Luro plus shipping, lS8N-number 3-932349-2!-0 (Cerman)
8lack 8ook on Lidl in Lurope, 8erlin 2006, Lnglish edilion.
!4,90 Luro plus shipping, lS8N-Nummer 3-932349-22-9 (Lnglish)
Order. manina.wallerverdigmbh.de, Telelon +49 (0)30 6956-!262