Verdi condemns Lidl

The German services union Verdi has launched an attack on working practices at the discount retail chain Lidl, which has 30,000 employees in Germany.

It points out that works councils have only been set up in seven of the company's 2,500 stores, despite the fact that legally they can be set up in any workplaces with five or more employees.

Based on interviews with employees, the union accuses the company of creating a climate of fear among its employees. The company has described the Verdi accusations as "defamation" based on isolated examples.