Around one hundred Delhaize shops in Belgium remained closed on Wednesday and Thursday in protest to corporate franchise plans.
The closure of the shops was a sign of protest following the group's announcement on 7 March that it would convert all 128 shops in Belgium into franchises. These shops will no longer belong to the group, but to independent traders under the conditions of the Delhaize brand.
This situation affects 9,000 employees in Belgium, who are "very worried," as stated in a press release by the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL). According to the OGBL, the fact that these shops are being franchised "definitively rules out union representation and collective bargaining," thus leading to "poorer working conditions and wages."
No such plan has yet been announced for the Delhaize shops in Luxembourg.
The OGBL has expressed its support for the 9,000 employees of the group in Belgium and stresses in its press release that franchising the 58 shops in Luxembourg is "not an option."
The trade union has already contacted the management of Delhaize Luxembourg to address the situation.
