French postal workers strike against planned closure of post offices

Nearly one in 10 postal workers in France went on strike Tuesday to protest against reorganisation plans they fear will lead to nearly half of the country’s 14,000 post offices being closed and massive lay-offs.

“Around seven to nine percent of personnel” observed a nationwide stoppage called by three of the state-owned organisation’s main unions, management at La Poste said in a statement.

It added that it had taken steps to ensure mail and courier deliveries would not be halted. “Disturbances will therefore be very limited for all clients, both companies and individuals,” it said.

La Poste is planning on reducing the number of post offices dotted around France in an effort to streamline operations and put it on a competitive footing compared to counterparts in other European countries, but it has been coy on details.

Several EU governments have opened up mail delivery to competition or are about to do so, extending the commercial rivalry that exists in the parcel courier business.

Increasing e-mail usage has also eaten away at the need for neighbourhood offices.

The prospect of privatising or partly privatising post offices is on the cards for several countries, including Britain and France. The Netherlands and Germany have already opened up their services to private investment.

Unions covering La Poste workers fear the plans will result in 6,000 French post offices being closed by 2007, and that 10,000 jobs from the 320,000-strong workforce will be cut.

They plan to hold a demonstration later Tuesday in front of the Paris headquarters of La Poste. The mayors of some remote regions have promised to join the protest out of concern that their communities will find themselves increasingly isolated by the closures.