Polish court orders more hearings in J.Martins case
19-01-2005 17:33 por Reuters
GDANSK, Poland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A Polish appeals court on Wednesday ordered a new trial in an employment-law case against retailer Jeronimo Martins , seen by Polish media and labour activists as a test of workers' rights.
A lower court had told Martins to pay 35,000 zlotys ($11,220) for unpaid overtime to Bozena Lopacka, a former employee of its Biedronka (Ladybird) chain.
But the appeals court said the lower court had not examined the case thoroughly enough and sent it back to be heard again, citing its possible impact on similar cases in other courts.
"This decision allows us to present our position in the case once again. Our company has never accepted, and does not accept, illegal behaviour," said Martins spokeswoman Anna Mazurek.
Since Lopacka's case made headlines in September, workers at several other hypermarkets have also complained of systematic unpaid overtime and abusive working conditions, and she vowed on Wednesday to pursue the case further.
"I won't stop fighting. Other people are watching me, and I can't allow them to lose hope," she told journalists after the decision was announced.
Respected daily Rzeczpospolita on Wednesday called Lopacka "A second Walesa," referring to the iconic leader of the Solidarity labour movement that helped topple communism in 1989.
Since the fall of communism Poles have flocked to hypermarkets for their low prices and wide product ranges, while Western retailers, facing tough rules on labour and opening hours at home, have looked to central Europe for growth.
But a November poll by the CBOS opinion-research agency found that while 76 percent of Poles thought hypermarkets were definitely good for most customers, only 26 percent were convinced they were good for the Polish economy as a whole.
((Reporting by Malgorzata Rakowiec, writing by Nathaniel Espino,
nathaniel.espino@reuters.com, Reuters messaging:
nathaniel.espino.reuters.com@reuters.net, tel. +48 22 653 9712))
($1=3.120 Zloty)