Overview
- Aldi has confirmed it will open every Belgian store on Sundays from 8:30 to 13:00 with shifts offered on a voluntary basis and workers given either a pay premium or compensatory time off, but the company has not set a start date.
- Belgian trade unions say the plan clashes with legal limits on Sunday trading and raises safety and staffing concerns, and they have mounted direct actions including a shopping‑cart blockade at a Sint‑Job‑in‑’t‑Goor store.
- Earlier union strikes in late April forced the closure of more than 50 Aldi outlets, showing the dispute has already disrupted operations and hardened positions on both sides.
- Negotiations have produced no substantive agreement so far and company and union representatives are due to meet again on 29 June to try to resolve the conflict.
- The move follows a law change on 24 April 2026 that removed mandatory weekly shop closures and has prompted rivals such as Lidl, Carrefour, Intermarché, Albert Heijn and Jumbo to expand Sunday openings while Colruyt remains the main holdout.