Perhaps more than a hundred Delhaize closed until Tuesday

It has been over-unionizing and management since Delhaize announced it wanted to leave all supermarkets still under its own management to franchisees. The vast majority of those stores have been on strike since last Tuesday’s announcement. Also on Saturday, only 15 of the 128 stores were open.

Unions say this will also be the case on Monday and Tuesday. We’ve always said we’ll keep the shops closed until Works Council Day (Tuesday, ed.).Jan de Weg of the BBTK Socialist Union says.

What will happen next is still not clear. “Of course there is also the possibility that we will continue after that, but this will be difficult for people because they also have no income,” says de Weig. We may start to strike in fits. But now we still enjoy solidarity among the employees.”

On Sunday, there was a strike by the independently run Delhaize Socialist union in Brussels, which shut it down for 20 minutes. “Unacceptable extortion,” as the employers’ organization UCM calls it.

Delhaize pick-up service has been suspended through March 20. But home delivery will continue, and it has become free. “After Tuesday we’ll decide what we think about it, and with that I said everything and nothing,” says de Weig. “It’s scandalous, of course, it shows once again what management thinks of us. They made me angrier about it, and not just me.” (KB)