The French-speaking Christian clerk union CNE is stepping up pressure on the supermarket chain Delhaize. With the site boycottdelhaize.be, the union wants to make the shops that the chain wants to sell “unmarketable”. Delhaize reacts with dismay.
The union says it wants to cause “as much and as long as possible damage to the economic interests of the group and the shareholders”. CNE also comes with a clear message to potential buyers of stores. “If Delhaize succeeds in selling our stores, we will close them as soon as they are taken over. The battle continues,” warned Felipe Van Keirsbilck, general secretary of the CNE.
A serious social conflict has been going on at Delhaize since the supermarket announced that it wanted to privatize its 128 stores.
An open letter – signed by several academics, people from the cultural sector and civil society – has already been published calling for a boycott of Delhaize.
CNE now wants to intensify that boycott and extend it to the general public. Signatories can also indicate on the site how much sales Delhaize is missing due to their boycott. The counter stood at 57 people on Tuesday, and – in their own words – 270,000 euros of missed store purchases.
“Incomprehensible”
In a response, Delhaize calls the call for a boycott “incomprehensible” and, according to the chain, this is “diametrically opposed” to the company’s intention, in particular to keep stores open and to maintain wage and working conditions. “We understand the emotions, but we do not understand the principle of a boycott,” said the spokesman. “This could jeopardize not only the future of Delhaize, but also jobs, stores and suppliers and the future of many people, including the self-employed, who have nothing to do with this.”
READ ALSO. EXCLUSIVE. “Delhaize vandals” speak for the first time: “I realize it is punishable, but we will continue” (+)
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