Wal Mart abroad

Unsurprising news from Wal Mart: Violation of employees' rights by Wal Mart management is not a phenomenon confined to the U.S.:

"We were confronted with the closing down of our store if we did not accept the management's demands," said an employee in a store in southern Germany. These demands were not only about work time flexibilization but about dismissals of several employees and video surveillance of the store. In the end, pressure on the employees became too high and they gave in. An employee in another store ... reports similar practices.

Services union ver.di stressed that these unfair practices did not result in the preservation or creation of jobs:

"Wal Mart wants to use all possible opening hours to full capacity without hiring new workers. On the contrary: Jobs are being cancelled and the employees have to work longer hours," ver.di spokesman Ulrich Dalibor said.

Always remember that the price tag on the products you buy is only one component of the real price. The real price also has an environmental and a social component. In the case of Wal Mart it seems to me that the latter component is a price much too high to be paid.