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During 2009, Ripley had an income of 880 million dollars in Peru, an amount which is also the result of the effort of 7684 workers. But instead of encouraging them by improving their labour conditions, the Chilean chain of department stores refuses to increase their salaries; arbitrarily changes working hours, does not pay extra hours, threatens not to renew temporary contracts and wages war with the union.



While in Lima a group of workers from Ripley risked their jobs by demanding the company the payment of extra hours, the establishment of new working hours and to become permanent staff, in Santiago de Chile, Leandro Cortez, leader of one of the 40 Ripley unions in the neighbour country, signed a new collective agreement with more than 28 clauses improving workers’ conditions. Why is it that Ripley negotiates and responds to Chilean worker’s demands and ignores Peruvian workers?.



“We do not understand why we are treated that way. To create our union cost blood, sweat and tears. Three colleagues were dismissed and others, who had become members, were forced to sign letters in which they committed to resign from the union. They do not respect us, and we are not allowed to complain. They are exempt from the fines established by the Ministry of Labour”, said Silvia Elera, General Secretary of the union. In spite of her position, and having worked for Ripley for more than eleven years, she is also part of the universe of temporary workers, hired by a contract and without benefits.



From Chile, Leandro Cortez heard about these abuses and some months ago decided to visit Peru. He was impressed by labour instability and antiunion practices which he and his union consider aberrant. “To have to wait 5 years to get an indefinite contract is an abuse. I do not understand why this should be allowed in Peru”, says Leandro.



Ripley might argue that this is a consequence of the Peruvian law which enables the private sector to use eight types of temporary contracts. However, Enrique Fernández Maldonado, lawyer specialised in labour law from the NGO Plades, states that, after three years under this contracting modality, the company is compelled to offer stability to the employees. In spite of this, Ripley always manages to side step the laws. Hugo Visosa, Defence Secretary of the union, explains that currently, the company waits after the worker has been employed for four years under the system of temporary contract and instead of renewing the contract, they dismiss him. “Some weeks ago, the Ministry of Labour fined them precisely for this type of contracts, but they take no notice of this”, says Hugo.



We called Ripley to get to know about their position, but they answered with a brief release. They mention that they appealed the payment of a fine of 50.000 soles (U$S 17.921, 15) and that is still being processed. But what they are hiding is that the Ministry of Labour determined that it is not possible to present an appeal in this case and that the only alternative is to start legal proceedings. “Companies like Ripley have a very high turnover and most of the products sold are imported; in the case of clothing it comes from China, direct competitor of Peru in the textile market. As a result, apart from affecting our textile industry, Ripley has workers under conditions which are precarious from a labour point of view”, explains Fernandez Maldonado.



Say no to the union



If Mirtha Llanos had not taken Ripley to court and had not won the trial which reinstated her in her job as a salesclerk, she would be unemployed for not having the courage to be a member of a union. “It took me years to come back, in December 2009 I was back in Megaplaza Ripley”, says Mirtha. The company had no choice but to respect the judicial decision and offer her an indefinite contract. They could not prove that Mirtha had ever failed to exercise her duties appropriately. “They said that I was neglecting my job because of being member of the union and that was not true. The judge saw that Ripley was unable to prove its point and pronounced a sentence in my favour”. At least Mirtha has justice on her side to prevent the company from committing abuses. But the other 80% of the stores’ workers are still under a temporary contracting system, and afraid of making any claim, at risk that they will not have their contracts renewed for the following month.



“The basic salary for salesclerks is of 100 soles (U$s 35, 84), it doesn’t even reach the level established for the minimum wage. The payment of commissions goes according to the level of sales. Everything depends on the time of the year and the place you are working”, explains Hugo with a copy of his contract in his hand. Ripley puts eight conditions. Among them, the worker’s obligation to offer his services in accordance to the company’s needs, and the rotating shifts the company indicates. Nothing about payment of extra hours or payment of productivity benefits. If the union requests a meeting to discuss certain measures like the working hours imposed by Ripley since July 5^th, the company ignores it and carries out the measures.



Silvia Elera explains that the labour law protects them as a union. “If the company wants to change labour conditions, they must consult us. But this is not respected here. New established labour hours damages our interests because we are strictly commission agents, and if we work at the times where the number of people visiting the store is low, our income is terribly reduced”, explains Silvia. Leandro Cortez speaks about Ripley’s contracts in Chile. “Most unions have collective agreements. As Ripley has several corporate names, each store has its union. We are 14.000 workers”. According to him, salesclerks have a minimum income of 320 dollars (172,000 pesos), and in their contracts it is specified that the company has to establish working hours a week before the beginning of the following month. This cannot be modified with the exception of extraordinary cases. Workers have the right to mobility bonus, bonus for snacks, performance bonus and one granted every five years of work. Apart from this, the payment of commissions (even if they do not achieve their sales goals), year end bonus, special allowances for education, marriage, birth, death of the worker, the spouse, the sons or daughters, grandparent or parents in law. Ripley also committed to offer training, special loans in the case it should be necessary, and to give detail of the commissions they receive in their pay check.



In Chile they listen to them



In Peru things are quite different. “When we saw the agreement Ripley accepted to sign with Leandro we were very surprised. Here we merely achieved an agreement in March 2008 in which they committed to share the profits projected for 2008, 2009 and 2010 financial years. They agreed upon the payment of education allowance (S/200- U$s 71, 68 and a mobility allowance of 10 soles (U$s 3, 58) for workers taking the night shift”, says Hugo Visosa. He’s been working at the Jockey Plaza Store for eleven years. When he started working, he was told that he would have to stay a couple of extra hours according to work demands but that it was temporary. He was never paid extra hours. Even when he and his colleagues admire the measures of the unions in the neighbour country, the lawyer specialised in labour law in Chile, Marcela Ramos Arellano, revealed in a report issued in 2007, that there is a trap about Ripley’s minimum wages.

To reach minimum wage levels, they have to make a specific amount of sales. Only once this goal is achieved, they can start earning commissions. However, law compels the company to pay the minimum wages regardless of the goals or conditions imposed by Ripley. “That is why it is so important to have a union culture. Within a couple of months after Ripley opens a new branch, the union is created, and when we believe that the company violates our rights we request an inspection from the Labour Direction, which is a body inside the Ministry of Labour”, explains Leandro. Meanwhile, Mirtha, Silvia and Hugo continue to fight for their rights. They do not agree with the new system of labour hours, which affects their health, their family life and also their commissions. “We have to come at the time they want, they do not respect our lunch time and the fact that I have children to look after”, says Mirtha. They have been waiting for the company to pay their extra hours for thirteen years, and to become permanent staff. If they want to be promoted? Of course, that was the first promise they heard from Ripley, when they were all single and below 20 years old. Today they are married and have children. They gave part of their lives to a company that regards them as numbers in a balance sheet.



Key issues



Ripley started to operate in 1996 with a store at the Mall Jockey Plaza. Today it owns 13 stores. A 25% of its income comes from operations in Peru.



An associate of Saga Falabella to build Aventura Plaza shopping centres, Ripley announced the opening of six new shopping centres in Peru during the period 2010-2015 with an investment of 360 million dollars.



An 80% of Ripley workers are employed under the commission system. They use three-months contracts.



Ripley Peru



Total income 2008: US$ 590.977.000

Total income 2009: US$ 888.000.000



By María Isabel Gonzales

Photograph: Eduardo Cavero



Source: 18/07/2010 Edition

http://www.larepublica.pe/archive/all/domingo/20100718/9/node/278970/todos/1558



Contact: marcio.monzane@uniglobalunion.org