2023-06-20 07:44:00
A hundred trade unionists, workers and their supporters were mobilized this Saturday in front of AD Delhaize in Flagey, again to protest against the decision to franchise its stores, taken in early March by the lion brand.
As a reminder, the management of Delhaize had obtained, via the courts, a ban on pickets for all stores and distribution centers in the country. A ban that ran until Friday, June 16, in the evening.
Return to Flagey district. Saturday morning, like every other Saturday, an action was carried out in front of the store to make passers-by and customers aware of the challenges of franchising. “Around noon, we decided to close the store,” recalls Arnaud Dereume, CNE union representative. This is where the tumult begins.
Direct line police and management
So the question is, “Who called the police?” because picketing alone was not a valid reason. “The info we were given was that a hundred people were making a mess in the store, says Arnaud Dereume, but that’s not true.” If there was indeed an action inside the store, the trade unionist explains that it was not likely to scare or intimidate.
A hundred workers and customers of the Belgian supermarket Delhaize protest peacefully at the Flagey unit in Brussels, singing the popular French song “On est là !” (We are here) and the Chilean song “El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido” (The United People Will Never Be Defeated) on Saturday 17 June 2023. BELGA PHOTO TIMON RAMBOER ©Belga
On the side of Delhaize, it is said that some police officers were already present on the spot to ensure the smooth running of the demonstration. “The police on site had given a telephone number to the director of Delhaize in case there were overflows, in order to inform them. What was done. Delhaize did not call to ask to intervene, but just informed.
In the meantime, the driver of a delivery truck reportedly lost his temper against the unions, which would have raised the tension a notch. The police arrive on the spot, but the atmosphere does not calm down and even rises a notch, so that the alderman of Social Affairs Audrey Lhoest (Ecolo) – in the absence of the mayor Doulkeridis – descends on the spot some time afterwards to calm things down.
Spontaneous strike at Delhaize: workers closed the Nivelles Shopping Center store
There still remains the question of the prior presence of a police team, which the trade unionists dispute. “In addition, when the police came down to stop an action, they came with a bailiff. But here, there was none.” A version challenged this time by Delhaize, which ensures that a bailiff was there “not to stop the action, but to observe”.
The strike was finally able to continue, and neither the municipality nor the police say they want to intervene in the ongoing social conflict. This Monday, fifteen Delhaize stores left the curtain closed in the Brussels region, without confrontation this time.
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