Jumbo banning staff from speaking to trade unions amid contract talks, FNV claims
Supermarket chain Jumbo prohibits employees from talking to trade unions, FNV says. Dozens of employees have reported this to the trade union, according to FNV director Margje van der Woude. The union is currently negotiating a new collective labor agreement for supermarket employees with the trade association for supermarkets.
According to Van der Woude, Jumbo has informed employees of all branches that they are not allowed to talk to the trade unions. “I think that is quite incredible. In principle, as a union, you are allowed to visit stores and that is why we think it is very strange that Jumbo has said this. At other supermarkets, we are allowed to talk to employees,” she said. FNV will visit various supermarkets this summer to inform employees about their employment conditions.
According to the union, the collective labor agreement talks are very difficult. FNV wants a 7 percent wage increase and for the youth minimum wage to disappear so that young workers can earn the regular minimum wage. The supermarkets reportedly do not want to go further than a 2 percent higher salary.
CNV, which is also involved in the collective labor agreement negotiations, says it has not received any signals that Jumbo employees are not allowed to talk to the trade unions. “But that does not mean that FNV is wrong,” a spokesperson said. CNV has not heard this from employees of other supermarkets either.
CNV negotiator Jacqueline Twerda recently announced that the second round of negotiations had not resulted in an agreement. The current collective bargaining agreement expired at the start of this month, and the new round of negotiations between the unions and the supermarkets will start in September. According to Twerda, the collective labor agreement applies to approximately 300,000 people.
A spokesperson for Jumbo denied that the supermarket banned people from speaking with FNV. "All our colleagues are free to enter into discussions with unions, including FNV. As we have been doing for a long time, we ask unions to do this outside working hours and not on the shop floor so that colleagues can do their work undisturbed and they can be there for our customers."
