“450 jobs lost in Brussels and Wallonia after franchising of Delhaize stores”

According to CNE, this is a strategy in which franchisees of Delhaize stores that have taken over – and therefore more expensive – employees and staff who return to work part-time after illness would consciously try to work outside. “Up to 28 jobs have been lost in one store,” said CNE representative Rosetta Scibilia. “At the current rate, thousands of jobs will have disappeared in four to five years, without parent group Ahold Delhaize having spent a single euro on severance payments.”

There are no similar figures for stores in Flanders, according to the Dutch-speaking sister union ACV Puls. “We have interviewed transferred staff and it appears that the flexi-job and student statutes are often used,” says secretary Johan Van Loon.

Get rid of older workers

Many acquirers “work correctly,” he emphasizes, “but unfortunately we find that many acquirers are taking actions to get rid of ‘older’ employees.” In general, two techniques are used, according to Van Loon. On the one hand, some employees – who no longer have union representation with the franchisees – are suddenly called to management and pressured to sign a severance agreement, “with even a lower severance payment than the severance payment would be,” it said. On the other hand, franchisees would in some cases invariably assign heavier work to the acquired, more expensive employees than to the often younger, new and cheaper employees, according to Van Loon.

In a response, Delhaize says it regrets CNE’s statements. They “do not reflect the reality on the ground,” says spokesman Roel Dekelver. The retailer says it is still in regular contact with the 127 privatized stores – one additional one needs to be privatized – and “the vast majority (of the staff, ed.) appear satisfied,” according to Dekelver.

“The stores are running much better, whether it concerns turnover, volumes or customer satisfaction. All signals are green,” says Dekelver. “That shows that we have made the right decision and we cannot imagine a store running well with dissatisfied staff.”