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Once
again, brutal behaviour by German hard discounter: German hard discounter Lidl reacted brutally when workers in Calw participated in a strike to speed up collective bargaining negotiations in commerce. The company reacted promptly and decided to close the store, although both turnover and customer numbers were growing. It is not hard to see the similarity with Wal-Mart's decision to put 200 workers on the street in De Jonquière, Canada, closing a profitable store when they wanted to organise in UFCW. Like its role model Wal-Mart, Lidl goes to great lengths to keep their German operations as union-free as possible. When workers take the initiative to elect shop stewards or works councils, they are laid off, such as happened with Andrea Krätzner in Munich. First, management tried to frame her by giving her 25 Euros less than there should have been in her cash box when the shift began. When she complained, she was told that she is imagining things. Two weeks later she was fired without a notice period, allegedly for behaving badly when the cash box incident was discussed. The German hard discounter is now under growing attack from community and religious groups, politicians and media. Consumer groups collect addresses protesting against the company's anti-social behaviour. Margret Mönig-Raane, vice president of UNI Commerce affiliate ver.di, calls for legal action against Lidl's obstruction and destruction of works councils. Some reports indicate that Lidl would begin to be more careful in the treatment of its workers. The bad publicity and the strong criticism by ver.di is apparently bearing some fruit, and managers are said to have been asked to be less brutal than before, particularly in dealing with older workers. But others say that nothing has really changed. A customer in Heilbronn was shocked when she saw a Lidl worker lying on the floor of a store, scrubbing a freezing equipment with a toothbrush. Store managers are laid off if they use too many working hours, and the time for toilet visits is deducted from working time. Perhaps this can be seen as an improvement, remembering the reports that women workers at Lidl in the Czech Republic had to wear special headbands to be allowed to go to the toilet at all.
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