According to Julien Dejon, permanent CNE for the retail sector in the province of Liège, by closing the shutters at 8 p.m. the Médiacité staff only respected the law. Night work begins at 8 p.m. in Belgium and is prohibited in the commercial sector.
On Friday evenings, the Médiacité gallery is normally open until 9 p.m. But for several months, a standoff has pitted the unions against the operators of the shopping center, namely the real estate group CBRE. The CNE regularly carries out actions in order, in particular, to enforce the legislation while night work is prohibited in the commercial sector. According to the union, the social inspection even intervened to force stores to close their doors at 8 p.m.
New action by Médiacité workers this Tuesday, December 5 in Liège: “This lack of reaction is unworthy of a manager”
“This Friday evening, a bailiff came accompanied by the police. He brutally addressed the saleswomen, telling them that they did not have the right to close the store at 8 p.m. and then threatened them with a fine of €1,000 if they did it again,” he told the Belga Julien Dejon agency. “These were mostly very young girls who are just employees of a multinational and who work the schedule received from their employer,” he emphasizes.
According to the CNE, Médiacité appealed to the court of first instance, claiming assault against its freedom to trade. The penalties run until July 7, “it is clearly the start of the sales which is targeted here”, points out the trade unionist.
Médiacité has already found itself under fire on several occasions due to the price of parking and the lack of security in its car parks in particular.
Requested by the Belga agency, the manager of Médiacité did not respond immediately.
