Many stores of the German supermarket chain Aldi in Flanders did not open their doors on Friday morning due to spontaneous actions by the staff. Our editors heard this in trade union circles.
Yorick Dupon
Journalist at HLN, follows economy, technology and the EU
Source: own reporting, Aldi
Spontaneous strikes also broke out on Thursday after it became known that Aldi was also considering opening its Belgian stores on Sundays.
“The staff is giving a very clear signal of its dissatisfaction,” Lindsey Verhaeghe of the BBTK union told the Belga news agency. “We have not called for action, but we do support them.” The trade unionist herself mainly points the finger at politics.
Supermarkets that work with franchises, such as Delhaize, can employ staff more cheaply. This has resulted in unfair competition with the chains that “provide correct wage and employment conditions”, it is said.
The German supermarket chain ALDI regrets the closures. The company reported this in a response. ALDI emphasizes that it wants to “give every opportunity to constructive social dialogue”.
Aldi is losing market share
According to Verhaeghe of the socialist union, Aldi itself was not interested in Sunday openings, but the discounter is losing market share. “This is happening at the expense of the employees. In fact, the rules of the game in the sector need to be addressed. At Carrefour we have already concluded an agreement against our wishes.”
Negotiations at Aldi have yet to start. No consultation times have yet been agreed.
More expensive staff
Delhaize has transferred its own stores to independent operators. These stores fall under a different joint committee, where lower wages apply.
Large chains with their own stores, such as Colruyt, Lidl and Aldi, have to pay their staff more. Colruyt previously stated that it would not be economically viable to open the Colruyt supermarkets on Sundays.
Negotiations on agreements at sector level have broken down. Earlier this week, militants from the Christian trade union took action at the headquarters of Comeos, the employers’ federation in the retail sector.
Aldi has 440 stores in Belgium.
