Workers at Albert Heijn and Jumbo distribution centres feel structurally pressured and intimidated. Health and safety rules and regulations are said to be violated and sick employees should return to work as soon as possible at all costs. So reports current affairs column EenVandaag after its own investigation.
Not only because of the lack of safety measures, but also because of the high work pressure, accidents are said to occur regularly in the distribution centres. In one Albert Heijn distribution centre, more than 70 accidents have already occurred this year. These would often involve collisions with forklifts and by falling pallets from warehouse racks. So far, these caused only minor injuries. "We had a serious accident at the Jumbo distribution centre in Woerden last year," said a concerned FNV executive Karin Boelens in EenVandaag. "People were taken away to hospital with broken brains. People's physical well-being is at stake."
Working through illness
Jumbo employees with a broken wrist or ankle were even forced to return to work too early in some cases. This would structurally happen to employees who are ill. Health and safety rules are also given little importance in Jumbo's DC, it seems. The rolling containers may be loaded with a maximum of 400 kilos, but in practice it is often 600 kilos. As a result, employees regularly suffer from shoulder, arm and back pain.
Response from Albert Heijn and Jumbo
During the programme, Albert Heijn and Jumbo stated that they did not recognise the picture painted of working conditions. However, they promise to take employees’ complaints very seriously. “We employ 3,300 permanent staff (and over 2,000
agency workers) work for us and, unfortunately, things do sometimes go wrong,” said Albert Heijn. “We
take the examples currently being
very seriously and would like to discuss these matters with them
discussion. On the other hand, with a staff turnover rate of virtually 0 per cent and employees who stay with us for a long time (on average 14 years),
, we are fortunately also very pleased to have a great many satisfied staff members
.”
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