The management and the union bench of Delhaize are discussing this Tuesday morning. The unions hope that after the strong tensions, real negotiations will be able to open.
Uhe third extraordinary works council in as many weeks will be held this Tuesday, from 9.30 a.m., at Delhaize since management announced its intention to franchise the 128 stores it still has under its own management.
Workers’ representatives would like to be able to discuss the plan presented at the beginning of March when management has so far “not moved an inch”. There is not the slightest room for negotiation for the moment, they lament, hoping therefore to receive a signal from the employer and to glimpse “a small opening for real negotiations”.
For the unions, the attitude of management will also determine the course of events. If the sign sticks to its positions, this is likely to further inflame the anger of the workers and actions will then certainly follow, they warn.
If the negotiations remain blocked at the end of this extraordinary Works Council, it is possible that a social mediator will be sent on site. But “sooner or later, the parties concerned will have to sit down around the table anyway,” conclude the unions.
In the meantime, the strike movements that began three weeks ago are continuing. As of Monday, 67 of the company’s 128 stores were closed.
