The closure of the Erfurt location of the online retailer Zalando has resulted in at least a small increase in membership for the Verdi service union.
Since the company made its closure plans public a few weeks ago, there have been around 50 new members of the union from among those still working at Zalando. This is what the Verdi regional department head responsible for trade, Torsten Furgol, told the German Press Agency.
“These are mainly colleagues who are already organizing support with a view to legal protection and legal advice in the current situation,” says Furgol. Trade union members are entitled to free legal protection in questions of labor and social law.
At the same time, Furgol was confident about the upcoming negotiations to create a social plan for employees. Verdi’s goal is to ensure that this site closure is “as expensive as possible for the employer and that there is acceptable severance pay for the colleagues.”
So far no discussions with the union
The online retailer Zalando announced at the beginning of January that it wanted to completely give up its logistics location in the Thuringian state capital, which it opened in 2012, by the end of September. The company justified the step with a necessary restructuring of its Europe-wide logistics network. Zalando also announced that it would speak fairly and respectfully with employee representatives about the circumstances surrounding the site’s operation. “We will begin negotiations with the Erfurt works council about a reconciliation of interests and a social plan,” said the statement at the time.
According to Furgol, however, there have been no discussions about a reconciliation of interests or a social plan, at least with union representatives. But he no longer has any realistic hopes of dissuading Zalando from the planned closure of this location, said Furgol. “I don’t think the closure plans will be reversed.”
Employees of subcontractors also affected
In total, around 20 percent of Zalando’s direct employees in Erfurt are organized by Verdi, said Furgol. According to its own information, the company has around 2,700 employees at this location. The chairman of the Erfurt works council, Tony Krause, pointed out that the closure would affect hundreds of other employees who were employed by subcontractors who worked for Zalando in Thuringia – for example in the canteen.
