Industrial relations in the postal sector — Austria
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This is the Austrian contribution to the comparative analytical overview on Industrial relations in the postal sector
Background
The objective of this comparative study is to investigate the structure and main features of industrial relations in the postal sector in Europe, with a particular emphasis on the challenges faced by social partners in front of the liberalisation and privatisation processes affecting core postal activities.
The postal sector– together with energy and telecommunications – is one of those sectors providing services of general interest (SGI) of an economic nature. In the European Union post offices have always been noted for providing crucial service to the more isolated districts and more disadvantaged people in society. Until recently, in all member States, with few exceptions, the service used to be provided by a single public sector operator, which enjoyed a monopoly over the crucial postal activities, thus assuring a universal service (EU9812136F).
Over the last two decades, however, the organisation and delivery of postal services have undergone considerable change, as a result of both new consumer demands and the restrictions imposed on public expenditure by a new economic and political environment. Change, which was largely facilitated by technological innovation, led first to a certain degree of liberalisation in relation to some aspects of the delivery of postal services. Thus an increasing number of private providers were able to emerge and secure a significant share of the high value-added services market not covered by the post office monopoly. At the same time, post offices expanded considerably the range of their activities, which currently may include financial, insurance as well as other services along with the more traditional postal ones. At present the postal sector is characterised by a varying presence of both public and private operators, providing a broad range of services and products.
Since the late 90s, after the enactment of the December 1997 EU Directive on postal services, an extensive process of corporate restructuring – and sometimes of privatisation – was initiated by the national postal companies. It aimed at removing barriers to change and better achieving the goals of increased efficiency, augmented productivity and cost containment necessary to survive and consolidate in a more competitive environment. To be noted is that the European Directive, in view of the crucial social functions performed traditionally by post offices, required all Member States to guarantee a universal postal service covering at least the collection, classification, transport and distribution of postal items of up to two kilos and parcels of up to 10 kilos, as well as registered mail and insured-value mail. However, it allowed Member States to reserve specific parts of domestic, urgent or ordinary correspondence, as well as other mail services, for commercial operators if considered necessary for the efficient operation of the service. In other terms, it called for the substantial retention of a strong universal postal service, within the context of liberalisation.
Changes which occurred included the structural reorganisation and legal transformation of previously state-owned postal companies; the closure of unprofitable branches and transfer of their activities to subcontractors; the reduction in the number of post offices, sometimes replaced by post counters situated in local businesses already providing some other service; a massive process of application of new technologies to post offices and sorting centres. The impact – both quantitative and qualitative – on employment was substantial, with a considerable number of jobs lost, and considerable changes in terms and conditions of employment.
Significantly, in response to the new challenges, the EU-level social partners in postal services signed in October 1998 a framework agreement on the promotion of employment in the sector, aiming to improve working conditions, enhance consultative arrangements and ensure that employees are able to adapt to technological developments (EU9812136F). More recently, in November 2005, the Universal Postal Union – a United Nations specialised agency acting as a forum for cooperation between postal services – and Union Network International – a global union with 2.5 million members employed in the postal sector – signed a cooperation agreement aimed at promoting social dialogue between the two organisations (EU0512202N). More specifically, they made a commitment to establish joint actions that focus on the employment impact of developments in the postal sector, with particular attention to health and safety of workers and the improvement and development of the skills of postal workers.
On the other hand, new concern arose among most trade unions representing postal workers in Europe when a draft Directive– known as the ‘Bolkestein Directive’ after the name of the Internal Market Commissioner who submitted the proposal – was proposed in 2004. The draft directive, which covers also services of general interest if they are of an economic nature, as is the case of postal services, aimed at removing legal and administrative barriers to the development of a free market for services in the EU; but it met with strong opposition by the majority of the trade unions fearing that it would lead to social dumping (EU0407206F).
One may conclude that developments in the postal services sector reveal a mixed picture in rapid evolution, characterised by a search for cooperation and social dialogue between the social partners and by the enhancement of competition between the service providers.
The study
This study aims to gather information on industrial relations in the postal sector in the EU, acceding and candidate countries and Norway, paying particular attention to the impact of liberalisation and restructuring processes on employment, terms and conditions and the relationships between the social partners over the past decade.
Currently the postal sector is characterised by a varied presence of both public and private operators, providing a broad range of services and products. After a brief overview of the main features of the sector in its broadest sense, the study will focus on the developments regarding the mail services sector. In particular it will gather:
- information on the present structure of the mail service sector;
- data on industrial relations in the mail service sector.
1. The postal sector in general: basic data and trends
Keeping in mind the postal sector in its more general and inclusive definition (that is including any kind of services provided by postal operators, such as financial or insurance services), please indicate:
a) Current structure and services in the sector
1. The current structure of the sector in its broader definition: which is the range of services provided by postal operators? Has some kind of functional specialisation between providers been introduced?
Currently, the former state monopoly provider, the Austrian Post Company (Österreichische Post AG), which was partially privatised in 2006, mainly provides services related to the core postal businesses, i.e. letter mail and parcel delivery. Apart from this, the company’s business activities comprise advertising mail, newspaper delivery, over-the counter services and express messenger services. Since the partial liberalisation of the postal sector in the mid-1990s a number of mostly very small companies emerged which have specialised in niche-markets.
2. The number and characteristics of companies operating in the sector at large, distinguishing them according to their size, legal and property status (state-owned/ public limited/ private companies, etc.), the kind of services provided, their market share.
Österreichische Post AG is built up as a joint-stock company, whereby the federal state holds 51% of shares in it. The company had in 2006 about 25,000 employees. Apart from this still quasi-monopolist, there are about 300 small and smallest private-law companies which altogether employ no more than 1,000 people and about 10 private-law firms each with more than 50 employees, with a total workforce of around 2,000 or 3,000 employees. Their legal form varies from company to company.
b) Trends and developments in the sector since 1980s
3. If and when there have been legislative reforms affecting the traditional postal services sector since the 1980s and the main impact of these changes.
Postal services were long organised as a state monopoly in Austria. In 1996, this monopoly, the state-owned Austrian Postal Authorities (Österreichische Post- und Telegraphenverwaltung, ÖPTV), was transformed into Post und Telekom Austria AG (PTA), an enterprise based on private company law. The public employees working for ÖPTV were permanently transferred to PTA under the 1996 Postal Services Structure Act (Poststrukturgesetz, PTSG). Since then, new employees have been recruited exclusively as employees under private law, rather than as public employees. In 1999, telecommunications were hived off from PTA and subsequently partially privatised. At the same time, Österreichische Post AG was set up, with a scope of business that comprised, aside from mail services (known as the ‘yellow post’ ), scheduled ‘post bus’ transport services. The latter field of activity was sold to the Austrian Federal Railways (Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB) in 2002 (AT0206202N). Up to 2006, Österreichische Post AG was wholly state-owned, since government plans to sell off a notable share in it to a ‘strong strategic partner’ failed in 2003. Instead, it acquired 75% minus one share of feibra AG, a private distributor of advertising material, and expanded into Slovenia and Slovakia by setting up a number of subsidiaries (‘Yellogistics’, In time’, Slovak parcel’) (AT0601205F). In May 2006, 49% of the state’s shares in the company were sold on the Vienna stock exchange (Wiener Börse).
4. If and when the sector has been involved in liberalisation processes putting an end to monopoly positions since the 1980s and the main impact of these processes.
After the liberalisation of the Austrian telecommunications sector in 1997, liberalisation measures also affected postal services, when the 1997 Postal Services Act (Postgesetz) opened up part of the market for letter post. In 2002, the following postal services were opened to competition in Austria: parcels; unaddressed direct mail; newspapers and magazines; express deliveries; and letter mail with a weight of more than 350 grammes. Since 2003, the market for letters, addressed direct mail weighing over 100 grammes and all outbound letters (sent abroad from Austria) was also liberalised. It is important to note, however, that the Postal Services Act obliges the Österreichische Post AG to maintain its core postal services (‘universal services’).
5. The evolution of employment in the sector, globally and according to the main relevant subdivisions in which the sector is articulated, since the mid-90s and the expected future prospects.
During the past decade, the number of workers employed by Österreichische Post AG (and its predecessors) has been significantly reduced due to a continuing workforce-reduction process that has accelerated since 2001. From 2001 to 2005, the number of employees was cut by almost 22% or, in absolute figures, by about 6,600 people. This large-scale personnel reduction is partially due to the 2002 sale of the post bus business (see section 1.3 above). According to the management of the Österreichische Post AG, from 2007 onwards each year some 400 employees are planned to be made redundant by the end of 2009. The company’s losses of personnel have only to a small extent been compensated by business expansion in the area of the so-called ‘alternative’ postal providers.
6. Any relevant other change affecting the industrial relations in the sector.
In the field of industrial relations, liberalisation has meant establishing collective bargaining in a new sector, since in former times, when the postal services formed part of the public sector, pay and working conditions were laid down unilaterally by the authorities (it is a significant feature of industrial relations in Austria’s public sector that almost all of its employees are excluded from the right to conclude collective agreements; instead, employment conditions are fixed by law). As a consequence of this development, all postal workers employed by the Österreichische Post AG and its predecessors have been covered by collective agreements since 1997, when the first such agreement was signed. The Union of Post and Telecommunications Employees (Gewerkschaft der Post- und Fernmeldebediensteten, GPF) represents the sector’s employees.
2. The mail services sector: structure and change
Focusing now on the core business of the postal sector (that is on the activities related to the collection, classification, transport and distribution of postal items, NACE 64.1, rev. 1.1 2002), NCs should provide a brief account of the present situation of the sector and of any recent changes which have affected it. In particular, please illustrate:
1. If and when the sector has been involved in privatisation processes or in the contractualisation of employment relationships (that is the shift from public law employment contracts to private law employment contracts and collective bargaining coverage) since the 1980s and the main impact of these processes.
Employment at Österreichische Post AG is still characterised by the co-existence of forms of private- and public-law employment relationships, the latter being most clearly manifested in the career public servants (Beamte), who are a heritage of the former state monopoly (AT0203202F). When the state-owned ÖPTV was transformed into PTA and subsequently into Österreichische Post (see section 1.3 above), new employees were engaged only on private-law contract basis. As a consequence, the share of public sector employees among the company’s workforce has continuously dropped, currently standing at about 60%. Regarding collective bargaining implications see section 1.6 above.
2. If and when the sector has been involved in restructuring processes (offices closures, automation, reorganisation of production, outsourcing and contracting out, etc.) since the 1980s and the main consequences of these processes on employment (redundancies, recourse to different kind of contracts, etc.) and on work organisation (changes in the skills levels required, training; recourse to functional flexibility, longer operating hours, shift work, etc.).
Restructuring of the postal services has begun in the mid-1990s (see above). Major restructuring processes involving the closure of huge numbers of post offices (more than 1,000 out of a total of 2,300 from 2000 to 2005) and the permanent reorganisation of production carried out since 2000 has not only reduced the volume of employment. Rather, the type of employment has changed as well. For instance, the share of part-time workers has almost doubled during the last decade, which is especially attributable to an increasing number of male part-timers. This is because part-time work has in particular increased in postal distribution centres, due to the creation of new night-shift work that almost exclusively affects male workers. Aside from this, temporary agency work has also increased considerably. This form of employment relationship has become more widespread since around 2000. Initially, temporary agency workers were only conceived as a stop-gap at peak times, but for the past few years Österreichische Post AG has begun to replace ‘standard’ employees with temporary workers, though the latter are more expensive for the company than the former.
3. The current structure of the mail services sector: the number and characteristics of companies operating in the sector, distinguishing them according to their size, legal and property status (state-owned/ public limited/ private companies, etc.), the kind of services provided, their market share.
In 2004, Statistik Austria identified 315 companies operating in the postal services sector according to NACE 64.1 with a total workforce of 30,589 employees and 285 self-employed people. About one-third of the employees are women, and more than 95% of the sector’s workforce are white-collar workers. More detailed information is not available.
4. The sectoral employment levels and developments (possibly broken down by gender, education and skill level) since the mid-90s.
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2004 |
| 40,128 | 39,719 | 38,634 | 34,327 | 30,589 (10,580 women) |
Source: FORBA; Statistik Austria
More detailed information is not available.
5. The legal status of employees.
Regarding the Österreichische Post AG see above (section 2.1). Workers engaged by the ‘alternative’ providers are either regularly employed (i.e. private-law employment relationship) or work as formally self-employed persons which are subcontracted by a ‘quasi-employer’, often under precarious conditions.
6. The sectoral pay levels and developments compared to national averages, inflation and productivity growth (distinguishing between public and private operators) since the mid-90s.
Pay at Österreichische Post AG by and large corresponds to the national average, but is lower compared with other (former) state-owned companies (such as in telecommunications). With respect to the smaller, ‘alternative’ providers, pay levels vary with the quality of delivery services. Whereas pay and working conditions in the area of express messenger services are regulated by the applicable collective agreement for road haulage companies, pay and working conditions in the field of advertising mail and newspaper delivery are not subject to any collective agreement and thus often precarious; the latter services are allegedly often performed by illicitly operating ‘third-country nationals’ on the basis of self-employment. However, reliable information is scarce in this field.
7. The presence of any regulatory authorities or agencies with a brief explanation of their entitlements (price setting, issue of licenses, etc.).
According to the 1997 Postal Services Act, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie, BMVIT) as supreme regulatory authority in matters relating to postal services is entitled to impose some commitments on the Österreichische Post AG, in particular with respect to ‘universal’ services of public interest (e.g. the provision of affordable core postal services as well as of a sufficient number of post offices in rural regions). Price setting is – in the first instance – a matter of management decision. However, as far as the Österreichische Post AG is concerned, prices have to be approved by the BMVIT.
8. The involvement of the social partners in the sectoral regulatory framework (social partners’ representatives sitting in observatories, committees which oversee the management and developments of public utilities, etc).
There are no sector-specific observatories or committees with social partner participation.
9. Any other feature important to seize the peculiarities and the main problems to be solved in the sector.
Further liberalisation of the sector will put the Österreichische Post AG under pressure, in particular with respect to marginal business activities. This is because many smaller providers take advantage of the lack of binding collective arrangements (such as a comprehensive sector-related collective agreement, see section 3.1 below). Collective agreements for sectors other than postal and courier services may only partially apply to postal workers (e.g. express messenger services workers are covered by the applicable agreement for road haulage employees). Moreover, several ‘alternative’ firms allegedly use to bypass labour and social law by illegally subcontracting advertising mail and newspaper delivery services to (often illicitly operating) alien workers.
3. Industrial relations in the mail service sector
Continuing to concentrate on the core businesses of the postal sector (NACE 64.1, rev. 1.1 2002), NCs should provide an overview of industrial relations in the mail service sector. In particular, please indicate:
1. Possible limitations or peculiarities with respect to the right to association, collective bargaining and strike.
In parallel with the liberalisation of services, the right to collective bargaining was established in the posts sector in the mid-1990s. However, in contrast to the standard pattern of encompassing sectoral collective bargaining in Austria, there is no sectoral collective agreement for the postal services. Only the employees of the Österreichische Post AG are covered by a company agreement (see section 1.6 above). The main reason for the lack of a sectoral collective agreement is the absence of a sector-related employer organisation which would take over bargaining activities. Although the domain of Austria’s principal employers’ confederation, the Austrian Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO), which is based on statutory membership, includes the liberalised services (also the Österreichische Post AG is a WKO member), no sector-related employer association within the WKO umbrella capable of conducting collective bargaining has been established. This underdevelopment in terms of industrial relations is mainly due to contrary interests between the Österreichische Post AG and most of the ‘alternative’ providers. Whereas the former monopoly provider has to strictly observe both labour law and collectively agreed regulations, most of the newly emerged employers would only reluctantly accept more far-reaching and binding employment regulations. This is because equal employment standards in terms of pay and working conditions for all the sector’s companies would abolish the ‘alternative’ providers’ competitive edge (often resulting from problematic, sometimes illegal employment practices).
2. The structure of trade union representation: number and characteristics of the unions which operate in the sector, union density. In particular: is union representation fragmented? Are there rivalries between the trade unions? Are there differences between public and private operators?
The GPF represents the employees of the Österreichische Post AG, i.e. about five-sixth of the sector. Apart from this, the Union of Salaried Employees (Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, GPA) organises the white-collar workers of the sector’s ‘alternative’ providers, and the newly (via a merger process involving three former unions) formed VIDA union represents the sector’s blue-collar workers (those employed by companies other than the former monopoly provider). Although union representation in the sector is thus fragmented, no rivalries between the unions concerned have been arisen. Union density of GPF is around 80% both in total and in the sector and of GPA about 20% in total (and most probably significantly lower in the postal sector). Corresponding data for VIDA are not available.
3. The structure of employer representation: are there sectoral employer/trade associations? What is the number of companies affiliated to these associations, and the number of employees of the affiliated companies? Has there been any major reorganisation of employers’ associations as a consequence of the changes affecting the sector?
Although all the sector’s employers have to be members of the WKO due to mandatory membership, there is no sectoral employer and/or trade association (see section 3.1 above). This means that each employer providing postal services is not clearly attributable to one single association, but – according to the company’s different areas of activity – it may be a member of several distinct associations. Underdevelopment of industrial relations in the posts sector is closely related to the fact that despite the sector’s liberalisation no corresponding reorganisation and differentiation of the WKO’s internal associational structure has been realised.
4. The structure of collective bargaining: at what level are collective agreements concluded? National/sectoral? Decentralised? Both, with different scope? Other? Are there differences between public and private operators?
See above.
5. The coverage of collective bargaining in terms of companies and employees. Are there non-union companies or cases of opting out from employers’ association and multi-employer bargaining? Other? Are there differences between public and private operators?
Coverage of the Österreichische Post AG company collective agreement is 100%. Collective bargaining coverage of the rest of the sector is hard to assess, since several distinct collective agreements applicable for sectors other than posts may also cover some activities of postal services providers.
6. Issues dealt with in collective bargaining: working time, training and career developments, equal opportunities, performance-related pay, conciliation between work and personal life, others. Are there differences between public and private operators.
No information available.
7. The impact of outsourcing/contracting out on collective bargaining coverage and working conditions.
Outsourcing and contracting out of the Österreichische Post AG has had no impact on collective bargaining coverage and working conditions for the company’s employees. However, it may have had an effect on the volume of the company’s workforce in terms of employee numbers (entailing reductions of work places).
8. The recourse to industrial conflict: data on number of strikes, worker participation and day lost over the last decade. Has recourse to conflict intensified as a consequence of the changes affecting the sector? Are there conflict resolution practices specific to the sector or to individual companies? Are there differences between public and private operators?
No strike action has been occurred during the last decade. However, the GPF has organised several protest actions and demonstrations during the recent years in order to halt or at least delay ongoing restructuring and privatisation of the Österreichische Post AG. There are no conflict resolution practices specific to the sector or to individual companies.
9. The presence of participatory practices at workplace level, either through the involvement of employees’ representatives or trade unions, or the implementation of direct participation. Instances of financial participation (ESOP). Are there differences between public and private operators?
In the course of the 2006 privatisation of 49% of the state’s shares in the Österreichische Post AG the company’s employees were offered favourable conditions for buying shares. According to the management, slightly more than 50% of the company’s employees have made use of this participation model. Apart from this, no additional practices of employee participation have been reported.
10. Any instances of social dialogue at sectoral level, like the conclusion of agreements or the presence of tri- bipartite bodies concerned with employment and labour relations issues.
GPF and the management of the Österreichische Post AG are in permanent touch with each other.
11. The membership of national actors in European-level cross-industry and sectoral organisations.
GPF is affiliated to both UNI Europa and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF).
Commentary by the NC
It is particularly important that each NC gives its own comments on the issues covered by this study, paying particular attention on the consequences of the changes affecting the sector over the last decade and on the differences between public and private providers. Please provide any additional information that you consider important to better understand the current situation and recent developments in the sector covered by this study in your country.
In the course of the significant transformations of the posts sector during the last decade the industrial relations actors have successfully adjusted themselves to the new conditions only with respect to the former monopoly provider, the current Österreichische Post AG. Regarding this company, both organised labour and the management were able smoothly to transform a situation of state regulation into a system of free collective bargaining with encompassing coverage. However, in case of the so-called ‘alternative’ providers which have emerged since the market liberalisation during the second half of the 1990s, the principle of the encompassing membership domain of WKO has not helped establishing collective bargaining on behalf of them. This is because the providers other than Österreichische Post AG have hitherto refrained from organising themselves in a sector-related employer association. Organised labour holds that the absence of any sector-related employer organisation is devised to undermine bipartite negotiations in the posts sector and thus to prevent the establishment of an encompassing, binding regulatory arrangement. Actually, the current widespread practice of offering precarious employment relationships enables many ‘alternative’ services providers to successfully compete with the sector’s predominant actor, the Österreichische Post AG, in at least a few niches of an increasing market.
(Georg Adam, Institute of Industrial Sociology, University of Vienna)