My Life on this planet.

The conflict between the staff and the management of Delhaize continues. This article shows why the staff, together with the unions, may be right. After all, the profit margins of the stores are less today than they used to be. The retail landscape is changing dramatically. People now regularly buy smaller quantities instead of once a week. For example, it appears that shops managed by Delhaize have limited opening hours, such as not being open on Sundays, when many people go shopping these days. The reason? The staff must be paid extra on Sundays. Evening work must also be paid extra. People now also buy via websites while products are delivered to their homes. This is even promoted by Delhaize, as a result of which people go less to stores, and therefore stores have less income. Since the profit margins are less, it will also be more difficult for the self-employed to make the business profitable, especially since Delhaize is not cheap. An example is Snickers which can be up to 55% m...

Introduction The World Cup is over, and I am sure that throughout the world many people enjoyed watching the games. There were surprises such as Morocco that became the first African and Arab country to reach the semi-finals that they lost. Other countries lost unexpectedly early in the tournament. Still, at the start of the tournament there were controversies about last minute changes such as the fact that the OneLove armband was forbidden. What can be wrong with love and not hate? Mr Thawadi, an influential figure in the organisation of the World Cup is wrong when he said that the protests at Quatar's World Cup are against Islamic values. Instead, they are about the right for people to be who they were born to be, without being forced to live a lie, or fear to be imprisoned or even killed when they are themselves. It started with Fifa boss Mr Infantino who first listed people with who we should be inclusive, to continue with saying that because of Europe's terrible past thr...

Het conflict tussen het personeel en de directie van Delhaize gaat verder. Dit artikel geeft weer waarom het personeel, samen met de vakbonden, wel eens gelijk zouden kunnen hebben . Immers, de winstmarges van de winkels zijn tegenwoordig minder dan vroeger.  Het winkellandschap is drastisch aan het veranderen. Mensen kopen nu regelmatig kleinere hoeveelheden i.p.v. eenmaal per week. Zo blijkt dat winkels in het beheer van Delhaize beperkte openingsuren hebben zoals niet open op zondag, wanneer tegenwoordig toch veel mensen gaan winkelen. De reden? Het personeel moet op zondag extra betaald worden. Ook avondwerk moet extra betaald worden.  Mensen kopen nu ook via websites waarbij producten aan huis worden geleverd. Dit wordt zelfs gepromoot door Delhaize waardoor mensen minder naar winkels gaan, en deze dus ook minder inkomsten hebben.  Vermits de winstmarges minder zijn, zal het ook moeilijker zijn voor zelfstandigen om de zaak winstgevend te maken, zeker ver...

Friday, June 17, 2022 . A number of the Guardian articles about the state of our planet, not only about climate change but also about people who kill other humans who only want to report on the state of our planet so we understand the destruction. I published the articles on my Facebook in June 2022 while added more recent articles in this post. This bring us to the conclusion that activism as usual such as meeting important people is no longer sufficient. But, what is the best way forward as any actions such as those by Extinction Rebellion (ER) are condemned by many people while a war by Russia draws even more money to fossil fuel and more general to energy companies? Two men murdered There is a war on nature that took the lives of two men  in Brazil: Dom Phillips, a journalist who travelled together with indigenous Bruno Pereira to show the destruction of the rainforest whereby plants, animals and even humans who live in the forests and depend on it, are killed.  Mr Philli...

14/03/2023: Post at Facebook about French pension protests How unions and journalists live in dreams instead of working with governments for good pension reforms.  We know we live longer, whether we like that or not. And thus, pensions will become too expensive, but also boredom may settle in for many. Instead of union bosses who ask to be fired to show their members that is the way to have good benefits until their real retirement, they should explain employees and employers that, as we can enjoy a longer life, it is logic we need to work longer.  How can unions contribute to good pension reforms? First by accepting we need to work longer. Then argue that pensions should be based not only on the final years of their earnings so workers can descent the career ladder, certainly when they finished paying their mortgage while their children left home. Of course, a certain age is not the only milestone as the length of the career, but also the toughness of a profession is importa...

This morning. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that Flemish victims need to pay for the translation of their documents  so that they are receptive. After nearly 200 years of existence as a bilingual country, Belgium still doesn't know how to deal with it, and thus to justify its continued existence. Situation In 2016, terrorist attacks at the airport and a metro station in Brussels killed 32 victims (while also three perpetrators died) and wounded hundreds of people, both Flemish, Walloons and foreigners. Now the trial started in the bilingual city Brussels. Still, the Court decided to choose the language French as the working language. And thus, while Walloons can submit documents in their own language, Flemish, but probably also foreigners, must also submit in French all their documents, such as reports by doctors who they consulted most likely in their own language to treat their injuries, and the victims need to pay expensive legally approved translators, or the docu...

In Belgium, a serious discussion was happening about whether nuclear power stations should remain open for many more years, and now politicians and the public are convinced that two reactors should remain open to have sufficient cheap electricity, certainly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia when energy prices became very expensive and nearly unpayable for even middle-class people but also for companies. Employers organisations are happy, others are not as the others highlight possible risks and certain costs to continue nuclear energy. Also the CEO of Engie Electabel warned it will not be easy to keep two nuclear plants open beyond their current expiring date, partly because they need reparations to continue to work safely. Still, the Belgian government reached a pre-deal with Engie to keep the nuclear reactors running for another 10 years, although Engie first need to check whether this is possible. Sign to indicate radioactivity The Belgian government, supported by the Ener...