In an interview with Humo, Magnette makes it clear that, as far as he is concerned, there should not be too much in the way of relaxation in e-commerce. The government will soon consider a more flexible regime for e-commerce between 8pm and midnight, but Magnette says night work should be limited to a limited number of sectors and e-commerce is not one of them. “That is why I would like to realize the e-commerce trip after the core exit”, it sounds provocative.
ALSO READ. Paul Magnette: “Let Belgium become the first country without e-commerce”
“Returning to the 100-Year Economy”
Liberal chairmen Egbert Lachaert (Open VLD) and Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) – naturally – do not agree with the views of their PS colleague Paul Magnette on e-commerce.
“Going back to the economy of 100 years ago will not help us. E-commerce can now provide jobs for thousands of people. We’re not going to let that go, are we?” Lachaert responds via twitter. Bouchez also noted the same reaction. “The 19th century cannot be a model of society. Progress is an opportunity. We need an open mind and adaptability in our society for greater well-being. We should not just leave e-commerce to other countries. We would lose hundreds of millions.”
Lachaert also notes that the PS supplies the Minister of Employment with Pierre-Yves Dermagne. “It should provide work, not eternal unemployment!” In a brief response to his cabinet, it is stated that “e-commerce should not become the rule as far as we are concerned. For lively city centers we need real shops.”
CD&V chairman Joachim Coens says on Twitter that it is not an either story, but an and story. “It’s not local shopping or e-commerce. The future lies in the combination of attractive stores and an online offering. We have to create the e-commerce sector here that is sustainable and works with correct working conditions.”
Flemish Minister of Finance and Budget, Housing and Immovable Heritage Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) calls Magnette’s statement “unworldly” on Twitter. “The unworldliness of Paul Magnette’s point of view defies imagination. E-commerce certainly comes with challenges, better tackling them than closing the door. Flanders is committed to digitization and economic growth in the future.”
“Not of this time”
“Whoever says that e-commerce has to disappear is still living in the stone age.” That is what CEO Danny Van Assche of the Unizo entrepreneurial organization says. He does advocate measures to guarantee fair competition between international and local players.
Van Assche thinks Magnette’s statement is “out of date”, he says. “E-commerce has become a very important part of the way people make their purchases. That will never go away.”
“We hope that people will be able to shop for a long time to come, and we also hope that people have learned that shopping locally is important. If people no longer buy from local shops, they will disappear and there will be less income and jobs in our country, and cities and village centers will run empty. So it is important to buy locally, but people will of course also do that via e-commerce.”
Unizo does want measures to ensure that domestic traders are treated in the same way as large international players. This concerns, for example, tax treatment or inspections. The business association has also been arguing for a ban on free returns for some time.
“Unseen Recklessness”
Comeos, the federation of the trade sector, reacted with disappointment to Magnette’s statements on Monday evening. “His proposal to make Belgium the first country without e-commerce shows an unprecedented recklessness,” it sounds.
The federation points out that Belgians shop online en masse, more than 80 percent already do so. “If all those goods have to come from abroad, we will lose 9 billion euros in turnover and tens of thousands of jobs”.
Comeos regrets that the PS chairman thinks that e-commerce only creates inferior jobs, and that consumers should just wait for their order. “He thinks only physical stores will survive. But he’s wrong. The reality is that every brick-and-mortar retail chain today also has a digital strategy and that the future of commerce will be physical and digital,” it sounds. “If Magnette doesn’t want bad jobs, then the solution is simple: he should help to organize digital trade mainly here in Belgium instead of now with foreign global players.”
Comeos believes that there is certainly room for a Belgian alternative to e-commerce from abroad. The period of the lockdown has shown that, it is said: in 2020 the number of online stores almost doubled to 49,000 units. “We should therefore not phase out, as a Belgian trader we should just be given the opportunity to offer modern consumers every comfort. Let e-commerce flourish here instead of across the border and you win three times: there is more economic added value at home, with local suppliers. We can organize this with Belgian jobs against respectable wages and working conditions. And thirdly, we can enable more local deliveries and lively city centers with local logistics hubs,” says Comeos CEO Dominique Michel.
“Turning back the clock is utopian”
“We are a modern union and realistic. Turning back the clock is utopian. And we even dare to place an order via the internet,” says Kristel Van Damme, retail manager for ACV Puls. “But at the same time, stores will have to continue to focus on a fun shopping experience with a sustainable character.”
“However, I am convinced that we should not just copy the Dutch model. That is detrimental to employees and the wet dream of trade federation Comeos,” says Van Damme. “Just look at the logistics centers there: these centers are largely populated by labor migrants who are temporarily employed for a higher wage while they still have to hand over part of the wage to the interim office for lousy housing. We don’t want these jobs in Belgium, it even smells like modern slavery. As a trade union, we will focus on a Belgian e-commerce model, where quality work comes first.”
“As a trade union, we are certainly also concerned about the environment, after all, we only have one world,” says Van Damme. ACV Puls also has a clear vision on the organization of the ‘last mile’. “Let only one company be responsible for deliveries to a district or to a specific region, with permanent contracts for the employees there too. Ideally with deliveries by cargo bicycles in an urban environment and electric vehicles outside the city. Using fixed collection points also has a positive impact on the environment.”
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