Makro branch of Deurne closed due to strike (Deurne)

Four of the six Belgian stores were opened at the Makro chain of stores on Saturday. In Deurne and Machelen there is a personnel campaign and the doors remain closed, according to the management. At Makro, a social conflict has been going on for some time around a new savings plan.

On Friday it sounded to the liberal union, which had issued an ultimatum to the management, that all stores will probably be open this weekend. After all, the unions no longer called for a strike, because they decided to take a seat at the negotiating table on Thursday. But the unions did not rule out local actions, and that now appears to be the case.

The shops of Deurne and Machelen were closed on Saturday “to our surprise”, says CEO Vincent Nolf, because the three union factions have accepted the invitation to negotiate. “There is dialogue. We are surprised that two branches have been closed. ” According to the CEO, it would be actions “on an individual initiative”. Management sees it more as a local problem than as a reaction to the savings plans. The CEO points out, for example, the social conflict that has been ongoing in Machelen for some time.

Makro’s management announced a week ago that it will not renew 100 to 200 temporary contracts in the coming year and is implementing a series of changes in the six stores (Deurne, Eke, Machelen, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Alleur and Lodelinsart). For example, there is the introduction of self-scan checkouts and a simplification of the internal organizational structure. The unions said they were not necessarily against the plan, but they wanted to be able to negotiate it.

There have been strikes in several stores since the announcement. The branch in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw was closed on Wednesday.

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