Auchan clarified on Thursday that it had decided to close its stores on Easter Sunday in response to requests from workers, adjusting shifts to give everyone the day off, following union allegations.
“Auchan clarifies that it has decided to close its stores on Easter Sunday, adjusting the rest days of its employees in response to their request, who asked to spend Easter with their families,” he said in a note sent to Lusa.
At the same time, he assured that all employees will have one day off on Easter Sunday and another one during the same week, “in accordance with what is established by law.”
The Trade, Office and Services Union of Portugal (CESP) this Thursday accused the Auchan hypermarkets of wanting to “give workers a break by changing their schedules so that everyone has a day off on Easter Sunday.”
“The Auchan hypermarkets, which recently greeted their workers with the news that they would be closing on Easter Sunday, have changed their weekly rest rotation scheme so that all workers have Easter Sunday off,” trade unionist Celia Lopes told Lusa news agency CESP.
“Workers are suffering because they stop taking vacations [na data prevista inicialmente] so that they can benefit from Easter Sunday,” he stressed.
The trade unionist spoke to the Lusa agency during a complaint about the situation of distribution company workers near the Auchan hypermarket, at the Centro Comercial Alegro, in Setúbal, as part of a set of initiatives to denounce low wages in the sector. CESP is conducted throughout the country.
According to CESP, reporting activities began last Monday with initiatives near the Sonae warehouses and the Pingo Doce store in Braga, followed this Thursday by other similar actions in the Sonae stores in Castelo Branco and Auchan in Setúbal, as well as other initiatives. already planned for the first half of this year.