Again, the vast majority of shops in the Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize are closed on Saturdays. Only 25 of the 128 shops are open. Protesting staff fear worsening working conditions. This is a result of plans by the retail chain, which is part of Ahold Delhaize, to hand over the stores to franchisees.
On Saturday, only thirteen owned stores remained open to shoppers. This Saturday, unions also went on strike at a distribution center of Delhome, a company that delivers groceries for Delhaize. Delhaize regrets this strike, which has led to the cancellation of around a thousand deliveries in the Brussels region.
Spontaneous protests
Most Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium are already franchised. According to the company, they work more economically and more flexibly and have seen their market share increase in recent years, while the opposite is true for Delhaize stores. Hence the plan to transfer the 128 owned stores to franchisees as well. Spontaneous protests arose after that plan was announced two weeks ago, including in Brussels and Ghent.
Source: BNR
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