The lockdown at Delhaize’s distribution center in Zellik was lifted around 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday night following the company decided to “to intervene“said a spokesperson for Delhaize.
A delegation from the CNE union blocked this Friday evening and during the night the depots of fresh products and dry products of Delhaize located in Zellik. A few hundred employees were at the main entrances to the depot to block the exit of the trucks. Around 10 p.m., a bailiff was on his way to the deposit.
According to the CNE, “the situation became tense with a deployment of several police suits who were more aggressive and who took pictures of the mobilized workers“, the union said in a statement.”The bailiff did not respect the law by not wanting to read the order to the strikers“
The atmosphere becomingmore menacing“, according to the police, reinforcements from the federal police have been requested. Two people have been placed in administrative detention.
The union then decided to stop blocking the deposit: “Around 2:30 a.m., to avoid any confrontation, we decided to lift a picket and maintain the second. We condemn these totally unjustified deployments targeting a legitimate social movement and which will further harden the situation.“
On the Delhaize side, sending a bailiff to the site was justified: “it was necessary to intervene in order to guarantee distribution in the stores“commented Roel Dekelver, the company’s spokesman.
According to this, the consequences of the action will be rather limited. Store supplies will be delayed.
In the meantime, the strike movement of store staff continues. Of the 128 company-owned stores, 96 will remain closed on Saturday, Delhaize said. In Brussels, all stores of the supermarket chain are closed, and in Wallonia, only one store is open. In Flanders, around half of the stores remain closed. “The number of inaccessible stores is higher than during the week“, said the spokesperson once more.
Block replenishment
The objective of the action was to prevent the restocking of Delhaize stores on Saturday, a busy day in supermarkets. “The management had promised not to change anything in the deposits in recent years. However, she recently closed the depot that handled the emptying to subcontract it to a company a little further away.the union said in a statement. Fortunately, the majority of the workers were able to be relocated to the other depots. But there is no indication that this will be the case if a depot closes once more.“
The CNE specifies that the workers are also asking “better working conditions” : “the workload is heavy, night work has a strong impact on health (…) The management had undertaken in a collective agreement to have at least 90% of permanent contracts. However, we note to date that the management continues to hire 30% of workers under precarious contracts, in particular students.“
Finally, the workersalso refuse the additional flexibility requested by the management following the integration of a deposit in the second“.
