V&D workers in court on forced salary cut

V&D will face its third lawsuit in a short time. Unions FNV and CNV is going to court on behalf of V&D employees to challenge the forced pay cut of 5.8 percent as well as a number of other measures such as surrendering holiday days, the Volkskrant reports. Last week the unions announced that lawsuits against V&D is a possibility. They also stated that they would assist with the legal battles of their members and informed their legal departments that they would be busy in the near future. The unions gave V&D a deadline to withdraw the requirements, or they would have to go to court. "As an employer you can not act unilaterally in such important primary employment conditions as salaries", said CNV negotiator Martijn den Heijer. "V&D was willing to talk, but not to withdraw the measures before the deadline." Two hours after the deadline expired V&D stated that they will partially alleviated the announced wage measure. The salary reduction of staff will now be done in 2 steps - 3 percent by February 1st this year and 2.8 percent from February 2016, the Volkskrant reports. But this is not enough for the unions and they will not withdraw the lawsuit.