Wal-Mart accused of closing stores in 'retaliation' for workers demanding better pay and conditions

The company has said the stores need to be closed for plumbing repairs

Workers protested outside the Wal-Mart store in Pico Rivera, California (Reuters)

A major American retailer has been accused of closing five of its stores in retaliation against workers who attempted to campaign for better pay and conditions.

Wal-Mart stores announced last week that it was closing five of its stores – in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and California - on a temporary basis while it carried out plumbing repairs.

But activists have accused of the company of seeking revenge after many of its staff at one of the affected stores joined a union and demanded better pay. They claimed the company had closed the other stores to provide itself with cover.

On Monday, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), made a formal complaint to the National Labour Relations Board, pointing out that the store that had been shut in Pico Rivera, California, was at the centre of worker action and had seen the first Wal-Mart strike in 2012.

The union asked the board to force Wal-Mart to reopen the stores, which employe around 2,200 people.

“It’s no secret that Wal-Mart has a visceral response to worker activism,” UFCW spokesman Marc Goumbri told The Independent.

“Over the past three years, workers have been standing up...This is a sign of the great lengths Wal-Mart will go to keep them under their thumb.”

The Wal-Mart store in Pico Rivera, California, was among five closed last week (Reuters)

Reuters reported that around About 200 Wal-Mart workers and supporters rallied outside the Pico Rivera store on Monday, some carrying signs reading “Hey Wal-Mart, the plumbing excuse stinks”.

Claims to the NLRB are first investigated by a regional director. If a claim is determined to have merit, NLRB counsel may seek an injunction with a federal court while the case moves to an NLRB administrative judge.

The process can take several months, meaning employees may need to seek work elsewhere before the outcome of the complaint is clear. Wal-Mart said it is offering workers 60 days pay and opportunities to transfer to other stores.

“This is a new low, even for Walmart,” said Venanzi Luna, an eight-year Walmart worker. “It’s just so heartless to put thousands of your employees out of a job with no clear explanation on just a few hours’ notice.”

Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to questions. However, reports said that the company claims that each of the five stores it has shut had reported more than 100 plumbing problems over the last two years,

Workers have campaigned for $15 an hour. Wal-Mart recently hiked its minimum hourly wage to at least $9 an hour nationally as part of a $1bn investment in better pay and benefits for its employees.