French supermarket chain Carrefour is planning to open its Belgian stores on Sundays, according to information from industry magazine Gondola.
The supermarket's management team met with workers' representatives on Wednesday to plan its business strategy for the upcoming years, a Carrefour spokesperson stated. During the three-hour meeting, the committee announced its intention to expand its operating hours to Sundays amid the context of decreased turnover and fierce competition with regional giant Delhaize.
Some Belgian supermarkets are now operating on Sundays due to progressive legislative changes mandating mandatory closing days. Many Delhaize stores, especially in urban areas, operate on Sundays. Others supermarkets run by Colruyt, Aldi or Lidl typically remain closed. Some Carrefour locations operated by franchise partners do offer Sunday hours, but this is so far not universal.
In 2015, areas designated as "touristic zones" were given more flexibility to open on Sundays without needing to adhere to the 24 consecutive hours of closing time mandated by law. Municipalities also have some oversight in allowing businesses to stay open through to Sunday.
The decision to expand the supermarket's operating hours has been met with mixed reactions. For national secretary of commerce at the CNE labour union, Myriam Djegam, the plans are "not good news."
Carrefour City market in the De Brouckère neighbourhood. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
"We felt it coming," she said. "Sunday work reinforces the difficulty of managing private life and professional life." The trade unionist stated that the decision to open on Sundays would likely "aggravate the situation" and "increase the workload" on employees.
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CGLSB union official Wilson Wellens is more optimistic about the plans. However, he cautioned that unions would need to be consulted. The unions plan to send a list of demands to the company's management on 1 April. Carrefour has faced backlash from unions for its heavy reliance on student and "flexijobs" to staff its locations. This allows the company to pay lower salaries and avoid recruiting full-time staff.
"The situation in the sector is such that [supermarkets] are in fierce competition with each other," Wellens reasoned. "We are going to listen to our members' fears and ask what they would like to change."
Carrefour has been in consultation with unions about the future of the company since October 2024, according to a spokesperson.
