The
Marinopoulos supermarket chain, one of the biggest in Greece, applied
for Bankruptcy in Operation. An Athens court will discuss the
request on July 1st, 2016 and until then the company will have
protection from its creditors.
The move is considered a big blow with
a possible domino effect threatening to send 11,000- 13,000 people to
unemployment. The Company with 700 stores across the country is said
to owe 500
million euro to
some 2,500-3,000 suppliers, while the debts to the state and social
security funds are over 40
million euro.
The employers
did not give any information to the unions, who have organized
protests outside the supermarkets and the offices of the chain, all
over Greece to protect the employees’ job positions.
On Wednesday,
June 29, the Union of Employees in Commerce-Retail of Athens demanded
meeting with the employers, only to face the police forces that
surrounded the offices of the company. After a militant action of the
union, a representative of the company was forced to talk with the
workers about the company’s plans.
The
union demands
- Ensuring of all jobs. No worker laid off! No coerced resignations or “voluntary” redundancies.
- Payment of the full salary and allowances as scheduled
- If in any possibility, the company is accepted into bankruptcy procedures, immediate adjustment of the demands, making sure to first satisfy the demands of the employees of the company over others (suppliers, banks, etc.).
Info from PAME (All-Workers Militant Front) and news sites.
Solidarity with the workers at the Marinopoulos supermarket chain!
