updateSeven Delhaize supermarkets in Brussels remained closed on Thursday due to a strike, the unions said. Workers are expressing their dissatisfaction after the failure on Monday of a social consultation as part of a reorganization of work in stores.
A reorganization took place at Delhaize in 2019. In particular, cross-functional teams and a floating team were created. But the effectiveness of these measures did not convince the unions, who refused to sign the collective labor agreement.
On Monday, a conciliation meeting between management and workers’ representatives failed. Socialist and liberal unions then filed a strike notice which will expire within two weeks.
“The situation is becoming untenable,” Wilson Wellens of the liberal ACLVB union said Thursday. “Workers are losing patience. Something has to be done. No further consultation with management has yet been scheduled.”
Nine stores already closed on Wednesday afternoon
Delhaize spokesman Roel Dekelver confirmed the strike. On Wednesday afternoon, nine of the group’s stores closed in the Brussels Region and inconveniences were also noted on Thursday. Seven stores thus remained closed this morning, including Delhaize Charles Quint, at Basilix shopping in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, the brand confirmed on Twitter.
Delhaize regrets that the stores are not accessible and is referring customers to open supermarkets. The chain of stores remains committed to social dialogue and hopes that it will be engaged and remain constructive.
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