Aldi employees in Brussels went on strike on Saturday

On Saturday, Aldi faced a new wave of strikes in Brussels and the surrounding area. In the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde region, 22 of the 26 stores remained closed, accounting for more than 80% of the local network. The reason: the discount chain’s plan to open stores on Sundays as well.

Loss of a fixed day off

The action affected stores in Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles, Uccle, Drogenbos, Ixelles, Vilvoorde, and Steenokkerzeel, among others. According to the unions Setca and CNE, the initiative came from the stores themselves. Employees fear that opening on Sundays will cause them to lose their regular day off. They also criticize the supermarket chain’s plans for being very vague.

A week earlier, dozens of Aldi stores, mainly in Flanders, had already closed after the chain outlined its plan for potential Sunday openings. Initially, a few stores in Limburg stopped operations, but by last weekend, the number of closed stores had risen to more than fifty. Branches in Wallonia also temporarily closed, including those around Charleroi and Verviers.

At the sector level

Discussions regarding the practical details were scheduled to take place in June. According to Setca President Myriam Delmée, three meetings with management are on the agenda. However, the unions hope to elevate the discussion to the sectoral level, especially now that the federal government has given the green light to scrap the mandatory weekly closing day. The proposal only needs to pass through parliament and could take effect as early as this summer.

The question is therefore no longer whether stores are legally allowed to open on Sundays. Rather, the question is all the more pressing: who will work, under what conditions, and at what cost. Certainly as long as there is no clarity on this at Aldi, the risk of new spontaneous actions remains.