Nine of the 128 stores that Delhaize manages directly remain closed on Saturday, a spokesman for the supermarket chain said. A new conciliation meeting between management and unions is due to take place later today.
Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels each had three stores closed on Saturday morning. A strike has been affecting the company since management announced on March 7 that it would franchise all of its 128 previously owned shops. Angered employees initiated mass actions that led to the closure of a large number of supermarkets. However, the number has decreased significantly over the weeks.
Social dialogue has been at a standstill since the announcement with attempts to break the deadlock falling through time and again. Last month, three special works councils failed to produce any progress. A social mediator from the FPS Labour was then appointed by Labour Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne, but the first conciliation meeting on Tuesday ended in failure.
A second meeting between management and unions is due to take place on Saturday afternoon.
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According to RTBF, a video was sent on Friday to the company’s employees by the CEO of Delhaize. It shows CEO Xavier Piesvaux justify the franchise plan in light of the company’s results and tries to reassure employees: “All employees of the supermarkets concerned who have a contract with Delhaize will keep their jobs and continue their careers with the future affiliate,” he says.
“I am 100% convinced that the future plan is the only option to guarantee a sustainable future for our company.”
The unions reacted by calling the video “another provocation”, just hours before the conciliation meeting.
