News

Santiago, August 26, 2011. “Interempresas Lider” union, the largest commerce union organization with 14 thousand affiliates, reported and emphatically rejects that today Wal-Mart, the multinational corporation, owner of “supermercados Líder”, “ACuenta”, and “Ekono” made unjustified massive lay-offs of 22 men and women workers at “LiderExpress” premises domiciled at Av. Grecia 245, Ñuñoa, (telephone 496 92 00), adducing “job abandonment”.

The union’s public declaration states that “The position adopted by Wal-Mart Chile is clearly in reprisal for the group of workers who gathered for a photograph in support of the August 24 & 25 National Strike and informed of the bad condition of sanitary facilities, the casino, excessive working hours, and abuse by bosses at “Lider” premises located at Avenida Grecia. We also reported that Roberto Peña, Administrator, threatened to fire pregnant women and the union representative accusing him of “sabotage”.

The announcement finished stating that “By taking this decision that is arbitrary and out of proportion, the company wants to send an intimidating signal to the rest of its workers. It does not conceal that it is trying to violate the citizens’ rights from Wal-Mart staff restricting their freedom of opinion, limiting their meeting rights, and seriously going against their union freedom. This totally out of proportion massive lay-off imposes an authoritarian policy in the company’s relationship with its workers and their organizations, which is an offense to our country’s rule of law. Finally, we declare that we will take all legal, political, and union measures to make this company respect the law, and reinstate de rule of law which today is being challenged with impunity.