News

The primary union of the branch Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine in the city of Krivoy Rog was established in March 2012 and is known for its relentless fight for workers’ rights. Almost immediately after being established, the union was able to gather a majority of employees to get official registration of the collective labour dispute between the primary union and Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine’s management.



In August 2012, National Mediation and Conciliation Service of Ukraine registered the dispute between the union and company ˗ issues such as collective bargaining were included. From that point onwards, management was required to start negotiating with the union on labour related problems at work, but they decided to act differently.



Due to this initiative, union leaders faced constant pressure from the global company’s management, and Andrey Kudelya, the head of the primary union, was fired in September 2012. "It was obvious that my dismissal was illegal from the point of view of national legislation and was done in order to get me out of workplaces [which] stopped the collective labour dispute. So, I was forced to go to court to defend my rights there," said Andrey Kudelya.



There were five litigation processes, within 8 months of Mr Kudelya’s dismissal, in four of these, the court sided with the union leader. As a result, on May 24, the court restored him to his former position and demanded that the company pay him compensation for the period of enforced absence.



Unfortunately, during these legal proceedings, the management continued to put pressure on the remaining leaders and union members. As a result, the collective labour dispute stopped and so the union failed to achieve a collective agreement.



"I'm sure that my victory will give confidence and a good example for other employees, and … soon, we resume the trade union collective labour dispute and achieve a collective agreement with the store," said Andrey Kudelya.