At department store chain Lidl, more than 100 of the 309 stores in Belgium will be closed on Wednesday as a result of the strike against the high work pressure. This concerns more than 60 branches in Flanders and more than 40 in Wallonia and Brussels. There are also actions in two of the five distribution centers.
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In Flanders, according to Koen De Punder, a representative of the Christian trade union ACV Puls, even 75 stores have been closed. Two of the five distribution centers are also blocked: one in Gullegem and one in Genk. Many shops in those regions are also closed, says De Punder.
At Lidl, a social conflict about the high workload has been lurking for a long time. There were already actions at the department store chain this spring, when some distribution centers were blocked, among other things.
Today’s actions come after a reconciliation meeting failed earlier this week. The management declined to respond to some of the staff’s demands, the unions say. For example, the unions requested a measurement of the tasks of the staff over a sufficiently long period, but the management only wanted to do this measurement for one week in a limited number of branches, says the BBTK.
The introduced reinforcement of 42 hours per week per store, which was introduced four years ago, is in jeopardy, says Wouter Parmentier (ACV Puls). ‘They want to take 20 hours off that. And the promise of introducing an in-house commercial crew (a sort of flying crew) has also been swallowed.
Management regrets strike
Lidl management regrets the strike action. She hopes to reconvene with the unions soon. “We regret that the union partners decided on Monday to cancel the meeting,” said Lidl spokeswoman Isabelle Colbrandt. ‘There was a constructive proposal on the table with numerous measures to improve the work organization of our colleagues in the stores. Unfortunately, the social partners choose to take action. Our customers are among the victims of this.’
The management says that several measures have been taken in recent months to optimize the work organization in the stores, by automating or outsourcing tasks. New proposals were made that would benefit both the well-being of the branch employees and the operation in the branches. According to the management, there are also initiatives to accelerate the influx of new colleagues. She remains available for consultation.
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