Germany: Netto accepts works councils in all its subsidiaries

Agreement guaranteeing the election of WCs. For Ver.di, which has been fighting for years for better working conditions and improved employee representation among German discounting chains, the agreement signed with Netto represents a double victory. On the one hand, the German discounter committed to apply the regional collective agreements negotiated by Ver.di. On the other, Netto is the first discounter of this size to guarantee, within a collective agreement, a WC for all its subsidiaries. It is therefore a historical agreement. Ulrich Dalibor, negotiator for Ver.di, told Planet Labor that, even though these elections have already been secured for years at Penny, discounter part of Rewe, Netto’s agreement is much wider, since is has become the third discounter after taking over Plus. The sector’s No. 2, Lidl, only has about 10 WCs in spite of its size. There are none at Aldi Sud. After the WC elections, which will be held across Germany from March 1 to may 31 (see our dispatch No. 100109), Netto will have, in total, nearly 250 staff representatives.