Retailer Xenos forcing employees to resign: Union

Retail chain Xenos is forcing employees with permanent contracts to resign, according to unions FNV and CNV. The unions have received hundreds of complaints from Xenos employees all across the Netherlands, De Telegraaf reports. These employees state that they were presented with a unilateral declaration during their performance review that states that the employer and employee had a proper consultation and decided to terminate the employment contract. De Telegraaf is in possession of one such document and reports that it states that Xenos wants to terminate the employment of the employee because of a unsolvable difference in understanding. "People who function well are put under pressure to sign such a statement. They are intimidated." FNV director Ron Peters told the newspaper. "Perhaps that is the way of working in a banana republic, but not in the Netherlands." The unions suspect that Xenos, a subsidiary of Blokker Holding, is engaged in a secret reorganization and want to enter into a discussion with them as soon as possible. CNV has now opened an online reporting point where Xenos employees can tell their story. The union is also visiting Xenos branches to talk to the employees. Blokker Holding is surprised by the complaints. According to the group, they are not reorganizing. The letter were written in the context of a performance review.