Dozens of labor activists and union members from French retail chain Carrefour yesterday gathered in front of the Council of Labor Affairs to protest the retailer’s alleged refusal to provide overtime pay and its firing of union officers.
Shouting “give me back my overtime pay” and carrying banners protesting the “illegal” labor practices of the supermarket giant, dozens of former and current employees demanded that labor officials crack down on the hypermarket, whose slogan is “everyday low prices.”
Chen Ming-te (陳明德), a Carrefour union official, said it was not uncommon for Carrefour employees to work as many as 192 hours per month and have as little as six days off during the same period.
Carrefour does not provide its employees adequate overtime pay when they work on national holidays, weekends or are required not to take any days off for periods as long as two weeks during major holidays, he said.
The protesters said Carrefour also employed many part-time employees and paid them the minimum wage, meaning that they did the same work as regular employees, but were paid less and not entitled to any of the benefits granted full-time employees.
In addition to those practices, protesters said the retailer has laid off union members and refused applications by union members to take time off to attend union activities.
Labor officials have since corroborated those complaints and the company received four fines last year over the matter.
Responding to the protest, the council said it would instruct local labor bureaus to act as mediators in helping employees negotiate with management at Carrefour. If any labor violations were discovered, it would not hesitate to issue additional fines, the council said.
The council also said it hoped the two sides would conduct negotiations in a peaceful and sincere manner to reach a mutually beneficial solution.
For its part, Carrefour said it abided by labor regulations and paid its employees all the compensation that was due them. However, the company did promise to seek better communication with employees on disputes regarding overtime.
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