Working time dispute at Post Office

Download article in original language : BE0412302NFR.DOC

November 2004 saw industrial action at the Belgian Post Office, as trade unions accused management of going back on a commitment to reduce weekly working time from 38 hours to 36.

Industrial relations tensions continue within the Belgian Post Office (La Poste/De Post). On 7 October 2004, trade unions representing Post Office staff gave notice of a 24-hour nationwide strike on 10 November - following an eight-day protest strike in October against the implementation of new delivery-planning software known as Géoroute (BE0409301N). The unions involved, which make up a 'common front', are: the General Confederation of Public Services (Centrale Générale des Services Publics/De Algemene Centrale der Openbare Diensten, CGSP/ACOD), affiliated to the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV); Transcom, the communication workers' union affiliated to the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV); and the Free Trade Union of Civil Servants (Syndicat libre de la Fonction Publique/Vrij Syndicaat voor het Openbaar Ambt, SLFP/VSOA).

The unions claimed that Post Office management had brought into question a previous commitment to reduce the working week from 38 to 36 hours, and had failed had not come up with alternatives to a reduction of working time that were sufficiently attractive. 'The alternatives offered by the Post Office are totally insufficient and are in conflict with the statutes. The effort, made by the staff over several months, has been totally ignored,' declared the union common front, which refused to continue dialogue with the management of the public sector enterprise.

According to Johnny Thijs, the Post Office’s managing director, the trade unions' decision to break off talks and hold a strike was 'particularly regrettable', given that management had presented various proposals in order to put into effect the company's framework collective agreement for 2000-4. The management says that it is no longer in a position to respect the commitment to reduce the working week from 38 hours to 36, and has thus made new proposals to the unions 'on the reduction of workload and support for employment within the Post Office'.

The positions of the two parties seem to be far apart. The unions find the company's proposals for rearranging working hours extremely inadequate. André Blaise of CSC/ACV Transcom stated: 'The management is proposing three extra days' annual leave for workers over 45 years old, whereas a reduction in working hours from 38 to 36 hours would be the equivalent of 13 days' extra leave for the whole workforce.'

The grievances of the postal workers' unions were exacerbated on 18 November by statements made to the press by the Federal Minister for public sector enterprises, Johan Vande Lanotte. The Minister announced a reform of post offices with the intention of ensuring their profitability and better adaptation to the requirements of customers. Among other changes, from spring 2005 he envisages introducing a pilot project called 'Points Poste', which consists of offering basic services (sales of postage stamps, fiscal stamps and fixed penalty stamps, deposit of outgoing mail, acceptance and distribution of registered mail etc) in supermarkets, independent bank branches or book shops.

This 'outsourcing' proposal was opposed by Mr Blaise of CSC/ACV Transcom: 'I am outraged to hear such words. The working conditions and the professional constraints imposed are quite different. For example, the employees of the shops concerned will have received two days of training and can manage the dispatch of registered mail, while at the Post Office, a postal delivery worker cannot do this.' The union leader fears a situation, in the long term, where the public authority that has responsibility for the Post Office circumvents the law which obliges the public enterprise to maintain a branch in each commune and at a maximum distance of five kilometres in populated areas.

Minister Vande Lanotte also announced his intention of giving the Post Office, by the end of 2005, a private partner, probably through an injection of capital to which the Belgian government could contribute.