Union established at Biedronka retail chain

Union established at Biedronka retail chain

Biedronka, a Portuguese-owned network of 700 supermarket employing almost 10,000 people in Poland, is no exception. In May 2004, the labour inspection authorities monitored 229 Biedronka locations in reaction to press articles about poor working conditions. According to their findings, Biedronka employees worked 12 hours and more per day with no overtime, and had their pay cut by various irregular means, while female employees routinely lifted weights exceeding the health and safety norms. Several cases were referred to the public prosecution service. An improvement in this situation was observed soon after the inspections.