Workers say struggling retailer CASA failed to pay wages in March; Union plans lawsuit

Labor union AVV has announced that they are taking legal steps to force home decoration store CASA to pay the staff’s wages for March. The union claims that this has not happened as of yet.

At the same time, there is uncertainty regarding the case because CASA has filed for bankruptcy in Belgium, but have not done so in the Netherlands as of yet, said AVV chairman Martin Pikaart. This insecurity is affecting over a hundred of the employees who are still employed at 18 CASA stores in the Netherlands and are having to continue their work under difficult circumstances, Pikaart said.

The wages should have been transferred last week, but management claims that it cannot access certain funds, he stated. "But that is not our problem," Pikaart added. Bankruptcy would actually be better now, he speculated, as employees would then be paid by benefits agency UWV. He also thinks that they will quickly be able to find a new job.

The IT systems have partially stopped working, and many stores are running out of inventory, he added. Pikaart said new deliveries are not arriving, and more shelves are now empty.

CASA was not available for comment. The bankruptcy curator in Belgium said that he can only comment about the state of affairs with the Belgian companies. A special administrative procedure has also been started in France, where a buyer is being sought to take over the French store outlets.

Retail expert Gino Van Ossel from the Vlerick Business School said earlier that CASA had lost its competitive edge in Belgium to online retailers and discounters, like Action and Temu. "You also have IKEA, Dille & Kamille, HEMA and new chains such as Flying Tiger or Sostrene Grene. CASA has not succeeded in making a difference there."

Van Ossel feared little interest in a restart.