Strikes over postal workers' working time

Download article in original language : PT0111103fPT.DOC

A national campaign of industrial action has been organised for November-December 2001 by trade unions representing delivery workers at Portugal's CTT postal service. The unions are calling for the replacement of the current system whereby the working day of employees is split into two parts with a continuous working system. Unions have made this demand for a number of years, but negotiations have been difficult: the company believes that the issue should be negotiated as part of more general talks on job and working time flexibility for all CTT employees.

The Portuguese postal service, Correios de Portugal SA (CTT) is a state-owned company and, as is usually the case with these companies, pay and employment conditions are governed by a company-level agreement. Under the terms of the present agreement, postal delivery workers work 39 hours a week and have a daily work schedule divided into two four-hour periods, with a one hour lunch-break.

According to the National Union of Posts and Telecommunications Employees (Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores dos Correios e Telecomunicações, SNTCT), given the nature of postal delivery work, especially in rural districts, delivery workers who are away from their place of work during the lunch-break continue to be responsible for the mail. Consequently, there is no real break, and employees end up working for the company for nine hours a day. Thus, delivery workers are calling for a daily schedule of 7 hours 48 minutes with a half-hour break, as part of a continuous working system (ie without the current split shift). In Portugal, the law requires employees to rest for at least 30 minutes after working for six consecutive hours.

Postal workers' strike

Negotiations over the issue of postal workers' working time have been going on for some years and have been accompanied by a number of strikes. These have become regular since June 2001 in several regions, such as Caldas da Rainha and Coimbra, with an overtime ban in operation in several areas and at some of the 400 distribution centres. Since September, the industrial action has become national. Action has been planned for the period between 12 November and 31 December 2001. During this period, an overtime ban will apply, while there will be days when employees will strike during the second work period of the day. On 27, 28 and 31 December there is due to be an all-out strike encompassing all mail distribution centres and post offices. Demonstrations and rallies are being held.

The managers of CTT's regional centres have stated that regional strikes serve no purpose because working time is a matter that should be discussed at national level. Unions claim that part of the mail is being delivered by other employees on strike days. The company has responded by stating that within its group it has other companies that specialise in urgent deliveries, and thus they deliver some types of mail (express mail) in this way.

Negotiations

From CTT's viewpoint, employees are claiming payment for their lunch hour and a reduction in the working week from 39 hours to 36.5 hours. The company views this claim as non-negotiable as it stands, because it increases costs without improving productivity. Meanwhile, as part of a wider discussion at company level, in June 2001 CTT and the unions signed a protocol providing for talks with the unions representing the company's whole workforce on reducing weekly working time, in return for which the company's board of directors has called for a move towards flexible working hours and job flexibility for all of the company's employees. The first meeting was due to take place in November 2001.

Commentary

Flexibility and new organisation of working time are gradually being introduced into Portugal, especially via informal company agreements and through reorganisation carried out by human resources departments. Both employers and employees are trying to adapt the organisation of working time to suit their interests. Negotiations have been long and hard, as they always are when working time is at stake. (Maria Luisa Cristovam, UAL)