Talks scheduled for tomorrow between Carrefour’s Belgian business and worker representatives are “unlikely” to prevent Friday’s (30 April) planned strike, the local Setca union has told just-food.
Carrefour, which is looking to restructure its business in Belgium, will enter into another round of talks over its proposals tomorrow.
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Amid union opposition, the world’s second-largest retailer has already revised its plans to close 21 stores in Belgium. Carrefour is now proposing to close between seven and nine of its shops and has also insisted that it plans to spend EUR300m (US$399.6m) on upgrading its remaining stores.
However, union officials remain unconvinced by the plans and have argued that Carrefour is more interested in cutting costs than investment.
A spokesman for Setca said the union will join the talks tomorrow but warned that, on Friday, Carrefour could see the planned strike close around 120 of stores in Belgium.
“It’s possible that the strike will be called off but I think it is unlikely,” the spokesman said.
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By GlobalDataSetca claims Carrefour plans to lower wages and the union insists it is seeking more information on the retailer’s plans to close between seven and nine stores.
The Setca spokesman said there were still “questions” over the role of the Mestdagh Group, the local retailer mulling plans to buy 20 Carrefour outlets in Belgium.
