Spanish Unions Cry Foul As Inditex Shuts Stores

Spanish Unions Cry Foul As Inditex Shuts Stores

Inditex plans to shut down 1200 stores worldwide, leaving many of its staff jobless. The world's biggest clothes retailer is closing smaller outlets while expanding flagship stores and the Spanish closures are the first of up to 700 expected this year in Europe, as well as 100 in the Americas and 400 elsewhere in the world. Under a December agreement, with two Spanish unions, Inditex aims to provide all affected staff with new vacancies matching their old contracts and seniority within 25 km (16 miles) of where they used to work. Inditex has also committed to reimburse transport costs up to 90 euros a month when relocation within 25 km was impossible, and cover relocation expenses if staff had to move house. Otherwise, workers could opt to leave, receiving compensation proportionate to their years with the firm. In an internal report seen by Reuters, the UGT union analysed vacancies offered by Inditex and found 40% of the new positions were outside the province where the worker in question had worked, in some cases on the other side of the country. The report said one in four workers offered new positions in Spain so far had quit. "If workers who used to work 40 hours are offered 12-hour jobs, hours away, that's not preserving employment," said Cristina Estevez, UGT's retail representative. UGT, the second-biggest Spanish union within Inditex, signed the deal with the company along with the leading syndicate CCOO. An Inditex spokesman said in an email to Reuters that it was complying with the union agreement and that relocations respected, "all its principles, wording and spirit, which is to prioritise the maintenance of jobs". The company was offering more than one vacancy for every job lost, the spokesman said, pointing out that 75% of workers had been successfully relocated so far. The number of vacancies offered so far is equivalent to 126% of jobs affected, the Inditex spokesman said. Six Spanish unions contacted by Reuters, including CCOO and UGT, said the high proportion of offers in different regions for fewer hours and more evenings and weekends was beyond the scope of what they had expected. Some workers in Barcelona were offered vacancies in Santander, a seven-hour drive away, the UGT union said. The CGT union in Madrid, said one worker was offered a position in Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city in North Africa. "These are disguised layoffs," CGT secretary for Zara in Madrid, Anibal Maestro, said.