Despite employer opposition, unions make headway in major retail chains

Trade union organisation is developing in Lithuania’s hitherto unionised large-scale retail chains. A first commerce sector trade union was registered in May 2008, while at company level union organisations have been set up at three out of the four largest retailers. Collective bargaining is under way in two of the companies, Rimi and Iki.

Trade union organisation in Lithuania’s large-scale retail chains, such as Rimi, Iki, Norfa and Maxima, has until recently been extremely weak (LT0709019I). However, the situation has started to change in 2008.

Unions established

On 28 May 2008, the Trade Union of Commerce Employees (Prekybos darbuotojų profesinė sąjunga, PDPS) was officially registered. Aleksandras Posochovas, President of the Lithuanian Service Structure Trade Union (Lietuvos paslaugų sferos darbuotojų profesinė sąjunga, LPSDPS), was elected as the chair of the new union.

At company level, trade union organisations were founded at Iki in April and at Rimi in May. A trade union, though not yet registered, is also functioning at Norfa. While no union has yet been established at Maxima, individual employees have joined PDPS.

Employers’ responses

According to trade unions, the establishment of union organisations and the emergence of opportunities to develop a social dialogue with them have met with very different reactions from the major retail chains

The management of Rimi held a first meeting with the chair of the PDPS and officials of the company-level trade union organisation in June. The participants discussed cooperation opportunities, and the representatives of the Rimi union committed themselves to drafting a collective agreement. Negotiations on the agreement were due to start in September. The parties agreed to tackle all problems through round-table negotiations.

However, the situation is somewhat different at the other companies. According to press releases, trade unionists at Norfa allege that they have been subjected to pressure from management to cease their activities. They allege that they have been threatened with lower wages and dismissal. The management denies these allegations and describes them as ‘illogical’.

Representatives of the trade union at Iki also allege that management is taking repressive measures against them. They claim that one of the union’s founders was dismissed soon after the establishment of the trade union, and litigation over this dismissal is pending before the courts. They also allege that another member of the union’s board has been subject to disciplinary penalties.

Despite the pending litigation, negotiations over a company-level collective agreement started at Iki in August. At their first meeting, the trade union and management agreed that the latter would provide the former with the necessary documents and that the union would draw up a draft agreement, within an agreed time scale. At present, the trade union is actively engaged in seeking attract new members. With a view to improving the environment for social dialogue, it is planning to send letters to Iki shareholders and make contact with retail trade unions in other countries.

The biggest large-scale retail chain, Maxima, does not yet have a trade union in place. As noted above, a small number of employees have joined the PDPS, but no collective bargaining has so far been initiated with management.

Inga Blaziene, Institute of Labour and Social Research