2023-04-19 15:00:00
After the failure of negotiations on Tuesday, during the conciliation meeting between the management of Delhaize and the unions, the strike continues. This Wednesday, eleven stores remained closed; which represents the lowest number since the beginning of the movement, at the beginning of March. A bailiff has also been sent to the only closed establishment in Flanders, Berchem. Delhaize expects it to be open once more on Wednesday followingnoon. Nine Delhaize are closed in Brussels and one in Wallonia, while logistics are operating normally. But that is not why the tensions are fading on the ground. New raids by police and bailiffs took place at the start of the day in several stores. A new way for management to show that it will not change its mind and that it is time, in its opinion, to end the strike.
On the side of the unions, the message remains the same: no question of slowing down. “The way things happened yesterday rekindles our resolve more than everassures Myriam Djegham, permanent trade secretary at the CNE. For us, this is a pivotal moment and actions will obviously continue to make the voice of employees heard.”
Concretely, the permanent did not want to give details of the actions, preferring to keep the element of surprise. “But we’re going to change strategy, that I can tell youshe says. This morning, one of our perms was arrested by the police following an intervention on a picket line. It’s a new turning point, things go even further…”
If the circumstances of this incident remain a little unclear, Myriam Djegham is still worried regarding the rest of the events. “What is the next step ? Send the army? For six weeks, there has been no violence on our part, no degradation, nothing. But Delhaize is acting violently towards us. Sometimes we feel like terrorists.”
A situation that feeds a feeling of frustration among employees. The president of Setca, Myriam Delmée, spoke on Tuesday of the fear of violence, if the situation were to continue. An opinion shared by our interlocutor. “At some point, it can degenerate, yesshe agrees. We do not encourage it but the employees are mistreated by their management which despises them and criminalizes them.”
As a reminder, no new meeting between management and unions is on the agenda immediately. A “classic” works council will take place this Monday, April 24, but there is no indication that it will allow the file to evolve.
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