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Wal-Mart love
ban and informer hotline rejected by German court
Wal-Mart's attempt to ban romantic relationships between its German workers has been rejected by a German court. Also the planned anonymous informer hotline was considered illegal. The company had wanted to introduce these as part of its so-called 'ethics code', but not surprisingly had failed to consult its own works council. Supported by their union, UNI-Commerce affiliate ver.di, the worker representative took the Bentonville-based retail giant to court, calling for the love ban and informer hotline to be stopped. When they were introduced by management earlier this year, it resulted in a veritable media eruption. For many Germans and other Europeans, the informer hotline brought back less than happy times of oppression and dictatorship, when these practices were a central part of the oppression machineries. Also the attempt by Wal-Mart to regulate the private lives of its workers were strongly resented. |
