An experimentation of redesign of sectorial social dialogue in food commerce : the case of Delhaize enterprise in Belgium

For several years, food commerce has gone through a multi-crisis. Indeed, since the seventies we can observe the re-invention of the growth model in this sector. The food market has been diversifying and consumers’ expectations have been more complex with a “potential” of consumption very important (Moati, 2001). In parallel, the profession of food market salesman has evolved. Régine Vanheems (2018) detects several factors of transformation of the sales profession in "an increasingly uncertain world": the post-digital era, the transformation of customer behaviors and expectations, and no doubt we can add the impact of the COVID virus. Therefore, under contextual pressure, this sector has needed to be regulated.In this context neoliberal, the Belgium food sector deals with different pressures, the latest : the crisis of Delhaize. In fact, since march 2023, Delhaize, one of Belgium’s largest food compagnies, has decided to franchise a part of stores in Wallonie. In this way, a battle between employers and unions has started. An average 100 of stores were closed during several weeks with a situation stretched in sectorial level : at the heart of the debate, a change of paritary commission for employees of Delhaize, a change is not accepted by employees and unions. Thus, this case corresponds typically in a start of institutional experimentation like the definition of Sabel and Zeitlin (2012) : “Experimentalism is a response to strategic uncertainty when parties are faced with urgent problems but know that their usual problem-solving strategies are failing, so they are willing to engage in a joint, deliberative investigation of possible solutions”. So, actors create new answer forms in a context of intern and external changes (Levesque et al, 2022; Kristensen and Morgan, 2012, Levesque and Murray, 2007). Rooted in the pragmatism approach, we can suppose that, in front of economic and social challenges, actors improve their responses to challenges. In this way “experimentation emphasizes tentative moves towards new forms of knowledge and practice, of tentative solutions to practical problems” (Murray and al, 2020).

So, we can ask the question : Toward the social conflict, how do social partners of sector manage this crisis ? What are strategies employed ? This lecture purposes a first approach about this crisis, based on various initial exploratory elements.