Four Lidl supermarkets have been blocked by unions on Saturday, forcing away shoppers for final Christmas provisions.
The stores are located in: Saint-Nicolas (East Flanders), Geel (near Antwerp), Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont (Hainaut), and Mouscron (Hainaut), a company spokesperson confirmed.
The spontaneous strike action concerns members of the socialist unions BBTK/Setca and CNE. Union members blocked the entrance to stores with shopping trollies, preventing customers from entering.
Similar union actions were carried out at three Lidl stores on Friday, protesting against worsening working conditions and the increasing use of precarious contracts within the chain. In particular, employees criticise the high number of students employed year-round within the Belgian subsidiary of the German group, which operates over 300 stores in Belgium.
Union representatives say that local management has been trying to “break the movement” using threats, deceit, and employing students to ensure stores remain open.
Lidl management lamented the strike occurring just three days before Christmas, stating that until now, the social climate within the company had been positive. They said there was no indication of an impending strike and there were no crisis talks planned. A company spokesperson confirmed the next meetings between the unions and management are scheduled for February.
