At the request of the trustees, the stores will remain open for the time being, with a view to a possible sale of (part of) the store chain. “That also means that people simply have to keep working,” says Twerda. ‘Nobody knows for how long and the staff don’t really know where it stands. We want to do everything we can to make that period of uncertainty last as short as possible.’
Avoid disaster scenarios at all costs
By entering into discussions with the curators, CNV also wants to prevent situations from arising such as the bankruptcies of BigBazar and BCC more than a year ago. Then, among other things, people who signed a VSO ended up being cheated, it turned out that pension premiums had disappeared into the employer’s pocket, an ultimate sale led to threatening situations in the shops and one of the employee pots of more than a hundred thousand ended up in the estate, at the end of the day. in favor of the creditors. Twerda: ‘We want to prevent these kinds of disaster scenarios for employees at all costs by meeting with the curators now. We want to be able to advise and support Blokker employees as best as possible with our knowledge and skills.’
Limit the consequences for employees as much as possible
CNV wants to do this, among other things, by using its network. For example, in the guidance of people who will soon be looking for a new job. “The unrest among 3,500 employees was already great,” says Twerda. ‘Blokker has been in bad weather for years due to disappointing yields. The employees have been between hope and fear for just as long. I think that the band-aid should not be peeled off unnecessarily slowly, but that we should limit the consequences for employees as much as possible.’
