Owners Lidl and Kaufland got almost a billion on development in … – Virtual Poland

Network owners Lidl and Kaufland borrowed from the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, nearly one billion US dollars – given the British newspaper “The Guardian”. The money was earmarked for development in Central and Eastern Europe. On the occasion of this information came back on the observance of labor rights in the stores these networks.

Retailing both networks are owned by Schwarz Group, which is controlled by one of the richest families in Germany. World Bank, one of whose tasks is to reduce poverty in the world, is of the opinion that the money for Lidl and Kaufland would help in the development of countries of Central and Eastern Europe. How? Eg. By creating new jobs, creating a market for local producers and providing good quality food for the poorer sections of society.

As writes “The Guardian”, the unions are challenging that idea. The unions mention labor rights violations, among others, in the chain stores in the UK. In recent times, there was much talk about the incident at one of the discount stores in Scotland, where the manager has banned Polish workers converse in their native language. In Poland many times that the protests Lidl employees. They frequently complained that doing the work that should be allocated for several people.

These reviews confirm the reports of the State Labour Inspectorate, according to which the infringed feature rules on working time. Chairman of the trade union “Solidarity” trade workers section notes that employees who want to join a union, they are often intimidated and harassed by managers Lidl.

Hundreds of millions to build a network

According to the International Finance Corporation, the first money Schwarz Group on the development of networks in Poland it received in 2004. Later that same year, he went on the list of enterprises violating workers’ rights. In 2009, aid for owners of Kaufland totaled $ 75 million and was intended to develop stores in Bulgaria and Romania. Two years later Schwarz Group got yet $ 66 million to create a network of Lidl in Romania, on the other hand, in 2013 – 105 million dollars – on this network in Bulgaria and Croatia.

Gilles Mettetal, representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development , refutes allegations. He says that at the time when the bank supported the network, the discount trade in the countries of Central Europe did not exist. Financial institutions explain that continuously monitor their investments, but that, as the expansion of supported companies contributed to the situation of local producers, is confidential information. Schwarz Group, which started operations in 1930 as a company dealing in the wholesale trade in foodstuffs in Germany is now one of the largest and fastest growing companies in the retail industry. The property owner is estimated at $ 21 billion.

Lidl in Poland has 14,000 employees, and the entire network consists of 500 shops. With arobki its employees, as the network is “significantly higher” than in other stores in Poland. In Romania, Lidl has opened over 185 stores since 2011, or an average of almost one a week.