The cashier was the first to stop work, the other employees soon followed. — © if
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The employees of the Makr branch in Eke spontaneously stopped work on Friday morning. There will also be a strike on Saturday. According to the trade union BBTK, there are “more than rumours” that the Belgian branches have been put up for sale by Metro, the German parent company. “One could at the very least address the staff and reassure them that the sale will take place in a proper manner,” said trade union secretary Katrien Degryse of BBTK. “We have requested an urgent maintenance with the staff, but that has not come to pass.”
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Ruben De Keyzer
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Hundreds of employees in Eke alone live in uncertainty due to the potential sale of the Makr branches. “Makro Eke has about 276 employees,” says Degryse. “However, many of them are sick or regularly quarantined, which has forced the remaining employees to do mountains of work in recent times. And they do, on the condition that they are treated with respect and are given clarity about their job.”
“Sales are not even denied anymore”
The news that the branches may be for sale made the pot boil over. “The local works council was asked about this on Thursday, but the management was unable to answer,” says Degryse. “In the past they denied it, but now they say nothing. In addition, a dozen colleagues have retired and no one is being replaced. That also says a lot. The cash register staff spontaneously stopped work on Friday morning and the rest of the staff followed. Because it was an unplanned strike, everyone only stayed until noon and then went home. We request an urgent meeting with the management, otherwise the strike will continue tomorrow.”
(read more below the photo)
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“Makro is on palliative”
It is no big secret that Makro is not doing too well. “Vincent Nolf, the CEO of Makro, has told us in the past that the Makro Group Belgium is in intensive care. We believe that Makro is actually on palliative care, and no one dares to say it. The staff feel totally unappreciated. We understand that there are confidentiality clauses in takeover talks, but at the very least one can guarantee the staff that they will continue to look after them after the takeover. This is a lack of appreciation for any employee who has been committed to this company for many years.”
The management says it does not want to comment on the strike, and also does not want to comment on “recent rumors and speculation”.
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