After the business weekly portal Lider published the news that managers of the well-known retail chain Konzum, now part of the Fortenova Group (formerly Agrokor), will work for a week in Konzum stores this summer—as a way to help during labor shortages and to “become familiar with the processes and standards of store operations”—famous trade unionist and President of the Novi sindikat, Mario Iveković, who once worked at Konzum, commented on the move.
“If the intention of the current Konzum management is for managers to better understand how the actual work process functions, that’s not a bad idea. But the problem is that this trend has only now developed, after years of neglecting work experience and knowledge of the processes. Is a week enough to really understand these processes? Certainly not. I’m afraid this is primarily a demagogic, PR move,” Iveković said.
Iveković believes that this announcement clearly signals through the media that the primary goal is promotional, rather than genuinely introducing managers to the most challenging tasks and working conditions in stores.
“I would like to see these managers actually put on their coats and have the store manager push them to do the most difficult tasks, just like regular Konzum workers do during one-hour overtime. They shouldn’t receive extra pay for that, because ordinary workers are only paid for shop hours, not for the preparation before or cleanup after the store officially closes. Ideally, during this time in the store, they would also receive the same wages as shop workers. Otherwise, the ‘experience’ will by no means be complete if they are still getting a manager’s salary while only spending a little time in the stores,” Iveković explained.
When asked whether managers would even allow themselves to be treated as “ordinary” workers, Iveković replied: “Of course not. Managers will come into the store with higher authority and a higher salary—they have too much power and money to truly experience what it’s like for shop workers.”
However, Iveković emphasizes that it is positive that the management has started to think about ensuring that managers better understand store processes. “If this is a kind of acknowledgment that this problem exists, that’s good. But certainly nothing serious can be achieved in just a week, especially not through a media announcement…”
