Shop staff and employees at Jumbo's head office had to step in during Easter to replace striking employees at distribution centres.
The supermarket chain reported this in a press release. The employees themselves reportedly offered to replace the strikers with the Easter rush, in order to prevent the shops from being less well supplied. According to news agency ANP, about 30 of Jumbo's 580 supermarkets were affected by the strikes in the DCs on Good Friday.
Jumbo employees have been laying down work since last Tuesday to force a collective agreement. According to trade unions FNV and CNV, 400 of the 3,000 employees at the Jumbo DCs are on strike. According to Jumbo, however, 150 people are involved. The unions want to continue the actions until there is an agreement. Jumbo promised its employees a 1.5 per cent pay rise to appease tempers. The unions did not agree to this. Via summary proceedings, the supermarket chain then hoped in vain to have the strike banned.
Jumbo's collective agreement expired on 1 April, and the supermarket chain wants to wait with a new collective agreement until 1 July, when the collective agreements of other supermarkets are known. "We guarantee a good package of working conditions and nothing at all will change that. But we are simply not the only supermarket chain in the Netherlands and we have to take into account what our competitors are doing. We agreed that with the unions last year."
Editorial LogistiekProfs
