Following criticism from trade union FNV, logistics workers at Picnic held brief protests on Monday. Protests were held in two distribution centres of the web only supermarket.
This weekend, newspaper Trouw published an article in which FNV strongly criticised working conditions at Picnic. The union reportedly spoke to 100 logistics workers over the past year.
"We understand how it is that Picnic can deliver for free. They pay too little pay, make people work very hard and do not invest in a safe working environment," FNV's assessment read. According to the union, the workload at Picnic is too high, people are paid too little and working conditions are unsafe.
The online supermarket reacted with surprise to the coverage in Trouw. "As if we are a company where workers are exploited and succumb by the bushes. That is totally not the atmosphere you hear," co-founder Michiel Muller told RTL Z.
Protest actions at two distribution centres
It seems that discontent at Picnic is wider than initially assumed after all. Fifty order pickers protested in the distribution centre on Monday. They handed a petition with demands to their supervisor. This was shortly followed by a protest by the same number of people at the distribution centre in Nijkerk.
Supermarket collective bargaining agreement
The staff demanded that the problems on the shop floor be resolved before Christmas. In addition, Picnic must enter into talks with FNV about applying the supermarket collective labour agreement. At Picnic, staff receive 9.79 euros gross per hour. According to the union, this is less than at a regular supermarket. According to Muller, the work of logistics staff is not covered by this collective labour agreement. "We now have our own, excellent employment conditions scheme. For instance, people are entitled to fixed breaks, and we have a health and safety policy. This summer, we increased salaries by another 2 per cent."
Following the protests, Picnic indicated it would take up the issue centrally.
