Lidl defends work conditions
AUNION has raised concerns over alleged issues including accidents and excess workload at Lidl’s distribution warehouse in Runcorn.
Usdaw said staff at the Manor Park site had reported poor health and safety, excessive workload, a lack of reasonable notice over rotas, unpaid hours after shifts have ended, and ‘discrimination and bullying’ from managers.
The union, which represents shop and distribution workers, said it had collected direct quotes from unhappy Lidl staff who made comments such as ‘if your face doesn’t fit it’s a hard job’ and ‘Lidl have a culture of health and safety is only important after something goes wrong, the training process is a joke at best’.
Others claimed that the warehouse was always ‘very cramped’, there had been ‘lots of accidents’ among pickers and that staff had been ‘injured ● due to pick rates being hard to achieve’.
Another reported inconsistency between how workers were dealt with, alleging that ‘certain employees get disciplined, other employees doing the same thing get away with it’ and that ‘targets are set for some people’.
The same employee said that there was a lot of uncertainty over their job’s future at that frequent changes in the warehouse meant that it was ‘harder to hit targets’.
Usdaw has accused the company of being unwilling to hold talks with it.
Lidl has responded to the claims, saying it was a responsible retailer that was committed to staff and had been the first British supermarket to adopt the Living Wage.
Amanda Bailey-Coll, Usdaw deputy divisional officer for the North West, said: “Usdaw is regularly receiving feedback from Lidl staff who are generally unhappy about their treatment at work and they say morale at the distribution centre can be pretty low.
“Usdaw’s campaign is based on the comments and real experiences of Lidl workers.
“The company now needs to sit down with Usdaw, the independent trade union representing their staff, so we can work to overcome these significant issues.
“Many Lidl workers are joining Usdaw and we urge others to sign up to the union, so that Usdaw can help get them a better deal and a strong voice at work for when things are going wrong.
“Lidl is a large provider of jobs in Runcorn, so it is concerning that they are not even prepared to speak to Usdaw.
“Good industrial relations are important for business and that requires the staff having a voice, through an independent trade union, so that they get a proper say in their working lives.
“We urge the company to meet with Usdaw with a view to recognising us as the trade union for Lidl staff.”
A Lidl spokesman said: “As a responsible retailer, we are committed to ensuring that our employees receive a high level of internal support and are provided with entitlements that go above and beyond statutory standards.
“This includes longer basic holiday packages, which increase with length of service.
“In 2015, we also became the first British supermarket to adopt the Living Wage, as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, directly benefitting over 50% of our workforce.
“In November 2017 we announced that this will be increased further, in addition to giving over 16,000 of our hourly paid employees a pay rise, effective from this month.
“As a result, our employees are amongst the best paid in the industry.
“We value direct communication and relationships with our employees and want to be the kind of employer where people don’t feel they need to pay a union to represent them.
“Our commitment to fairness across our entire workforce forms a central part of our core values, and we are dedicated to nurturing a collaborative environment that is based on open and direct lines of communication.”