Belgium: Carrefour’s restructuring revives the debate on the risk of social dumping coming with the multiplicity of joint committees in commerce

Carrefour Belgium’ restructuring program is sparking off controversy. The employees of the group’s 117 stores went on strike on February 27 to protest against the closure of 21 stores and the 1,700 layoffs announced on February 23. The French retail chain also provides to transfer the remaining workers from CP 312 to CP 202. In Belgium, joint committees are sectoral social dialog structure where the social partners negotiate working and pay conditions for the employees they represent. The 160,000 commerce employees are divided between the 5 CPs of large and small stores. This sector notably includes CP 312 for large stores or even CP 202 for employees in food retail. Yet, the collective agreement of CP 312 offers working and pay conditions that are more advantageous than CP 202. According to the trade unions, the transfer from one CP to the other means a 7-8% wage loss for the employees concerned as well as the loss of seniority leaves. Following the plan to subsidiarize the headquarters, its employees should be transferred from CP 312 to CP 218 (employees’ CP), which would also enable the company to cut costs.