Delhaize distribution group’s management made an announcement at the beginning of March regarding their plan to franchise all the 128 stores that they manage, which sparked an outcry from the workers and unions. As a result, many stores, especially in Brussels and Wallonia, remained closed. On Saturday, no stores opened in the capital, and only ten out of 41 opened in the southern part of the country. However, 45 stores in Flanders opened normally.
Dominique Michel, the managing director of COMEOS, stated that the strike is mostly happening in the French-speaking part of the country. Michel explained on the show “It’s not every day on Sunday” that there is a significant cultural difference between the north and south when it comes to striking. The French-speaking press is reporting it as a disaster, whereas Flemish press has both positive and negative reports regarding working under franchisee. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Labour Pierre-Yves Dermagne believes that French speakers tend to be more combative in conflicts like these.
A Delhaize employee named Charlotte, who has been working in Bouffioulx for nine years, said she is once morest the franchise plan. She feels that it is not the worker’s responsibility to pay for the low profit margins faced by shareholders, which led to workers’ rights getting reduced, and the workers protesting. She also feels that the workers are being exploited to increase shareholder profits. Dominique Michel disagreed with Charlotte and stated that there will be no job losses or impacting the workers’ conditions during the strike. Pierre-Yves Dermagne, however, disagreed and mentioned that there will be losses at the headquarters, and though the collective agreement would help the workers in the short term, there is no guarantee ad vitam.
The unions are planning various rallies in front of over forty Delhaize stores across the country on Saturday, including those in Tournai, Verviers, Nivelles, Marche, and all 22 stores in Brussels. The workers’ representatives hope to demonstrate solidarity with the employees, and customers are called upon to show their support by joining these actions and signing a petition.
At the beginning of March, the management of the Delhaize distribution group announced that it wanted to franchise all of its 128 stores under its own management, which provoked an outcry from the unions and misunderstanding among the workers. Since then, many of these supermarkets have remained closed, especially in Brussels and Wallonia. Among the branches accessible on Saturday, there were none in the capital (which has 22) and only ten (out of 41) in the south of the country. In Flanders, 45 stores opened normally.
Would this strike be mainly French-speaking? Dominique Michel, managing director of COMEOS, explains on the set of It’s not every day on Sunday that the north-south difference has existed for a very long time. “Every time there is a strike, there are 4-5 stores closed in Flanders and a lot of stores closed in Brussels and Wallonia. So there really is a completely different culture that is sometimes difficult to understand“.
What the “outmoded“and the surprise each time is that the coverage in the press is completely different in the north and in the south of the country.”The French-speaking press is overwhelmed. People say it’s going to be a disaster working for franchisees, while on the Flemish side there are some testimonies to that effect and others who explain that it’s not hell at all to work for a franchisee and that there are advantages too.”
Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Labour, believes that French speakers “show themselves to be more combative in a conflict such as this“to demand that Delhaize management reconsider its plan and actually enter into negotiations with the workers’ representatives.
Charlotte has been working for 9 years at Delhaize de Bouffioulx in the province of Hainaut. She says “non“at the business level and”non” to the franchise.”It is not up to the worker to pay for the fact that shareholders today are not happy with the profit they are making on the backs of the workers.“, she protests.
She explains that Delhaize is a profit-making multinational.”We are trying to reduce the rights of workers so that the shareholders will put even more of them in their pockets and that the workers are aware of this.e,” she snaps. “The message is clear, we won’t give up.”
Dominique Michel, Managing Director of COMEOS, reacts to Charlotte’s remarks by explaining that, according to him, the strike will last a very long time while there will be no job loss and everyone will keep their conditions. “There’s something I don’t understand“, he says.
Pierre-Yves Dermagne, not sharing this point of view at all, replied to Dominique Michel. “To say that there will be no job loss is wrong because Delhaize has announced job losses at headquarters (…) In the stores, this is true in the short term thanks to what is called the collective agreement but no one is there to guarantee it ad vitam.“
For their part, the unions announced various rallying actions this Saturday in front of around forty Delhaize across the country, including the 22 located in Brussels and those of Tournai, Verviers, Nivelles and Marche. The workers’ representatives wish in this way to demonstrate their solidarity with the employees concerned. Customers are called upon to join these actions to show their support and will be asked to sign a petition.
The Delhaize strike has caused frustration and inconvenience for both workers and customers across Belgium. The divide between the north and south of the country is evident in the media coverage and the approach to the strike. While some see the franchise plan as a positive change, others believe it puts workers’ rights and benefits at risk. The unions continue to rally and demonstrate their solidarity with affected employees. It remains to be seen how this dispute will be resolved, but one thing is clear: the workers are determined to fight for their rights and will not back down easily.
