DHL accused of abusing labour contract laws

Federal labour minister Kris Peeters has ordered an investigation into claims that courier service DHL Aviation is breaking labour laws with regards to temporary contracts for staff. The accusation followed an undercover investigation by the VRT television programme Pano.

According to the Pano, which attached a secret camera to a reporter sent to work for the company at its base at Brussels Airport, DHL keeps employees on temporary day contracts for months at a time. “A day contract is only allowed in specific cases,” Peeters said. “It cannot be used systematically. Seven months is out of the question.”

Among the exceptions are when extreme flexibility is required because of circumstances out of the business’s control, such as in restaurants at the coast where weather plays a key role in demand, Peeters’ office explained in a statement.

Day contracts allow workers to be hired and fired immediately and not receive any benefits. Pano’s reporter discovered that many employees were working under a chain of day contracts; he also uncovered problems with employees getting paid and breaches of workplace safety. The programme followed up with interviews with staff on temporary contracts, who confirmed the allegations.

“What the report reveals is shocking,” Peeters said. “Day contracts place the employee in a very vulnerable position and open the door for abuse. The report on DHL Aviation suggests serious offences that I, as labour minister, cannot tolerate.”

DHL, meanwhile, said it was aware of the legal restrictions and held to them. No employee was kept on a temporary day contract for more than 20 days, the company said, in direct opposition to what staff are reporting.

DHL employs 977 staff in Belgium, 90% of whom have a regular work contract. The other 10%, the company said, have six-month contracts. It also employs about 200 temp staff to fill in for employees on holiday and for peaks in demand, such as at Christmas, it said. “This is a very common situation in the logistics sector,” a company spokesperson said.

Photo courtesy DHL