The Swiss trade union Unia says it is aware of several cases of intimidation at the luxury watch manufacturer Rolex. Because, according to Unia, Rolex also unlawfully dismissed victims of this intimidation, the union now wants to submit the case to the labor court. In a statement on Monday, Unia reported “dozens” of cases of harassment among employees at Rolex’s headquarters in Geneva.
“For years, cases of repeated harassment at Rolex’s global service department in Geneva have been reported to the union,” union secretary Alejo Patiño told Swiss media on Monday. Unia received around fifty witness statements.
Rolex “experienced blockages”
The union tried to find solutions together with Rolex, but encountered ‘blockages’, the union said. “At first they completely denied everything,” Patiño said. Rolex later agreed to an internal investigation and then an external audit. However, these investigations did not lead to the measures demanded by the employees being implemented.
About 15 workers then reported the situation to the cantonal labor inspection office (Office cantonal genevois de l’inspection et des relations du travail, OCIRT). The OCIRT subsequently submitted a compliance request.
Employees report years of harassment
At Unia’s headquarters in Bern, employees told the media on Monday about a superior who harassed them for years and spread a toxic atmosphere. The company knew about this, but protected this employee. A former employee also reported that he was fired after resisting harassment.
Because employees who wanted to take action against the manager were dismissed, the union will file a lawsuit for ‘wrongful dismissal’ in the labor court at the end of this month.
Rolex: “We have taken necessary measures”
In response to a request from news agency AWP, Rolex said the company had “immediately taken the necessary measures to put an end to the situation” after discovering “functional glitches” in one of its departments. “The measures taken have led to a complete reorganization of the affected department,” a spokeswoman said.
Rolex “has made justified dismissals in accordance with the strict rules and has informed the OCIRT about this,” she added. We are currently actively working with the OCIRT on preventive measures and are doing everything we can to prevent such situations in the future.
Source: Krone
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