TNT, unions and works council await government vote

Unions and a works council within TNT NV have said they will keep a close eye on the Dutch parliament which is scheduled to vote this afternoon on market liberalisation legislation that will open the Dutch postal market to competition on deliveries of less than 50 grams.

The Abvakabo FNV union and BVPP, a postal union representing 9,000 workers, have criticised the liberalisation, while the works council at TNT Post, a division of TNT NV's domestic operations, has warned of possible labour action, including efforts to openly obstruct competitors, if the law is not amended with minimal requirements for labour agreements.

The liberalisation law is intended to open the Dutch market more fully to TNT competitors, such as Selekt Mail and Sandd, by Jan 1, 2008.

Those companies are not required to pay workers an hourly wage and use freelance performance-based pay schemes. Abvakabo FNV and the TNT Post works council say that these companies pay less than the minimum wage and enable unfair competition.

The subject was discussed during a series of parliamentary debates, and proposals were put forward to establish basic standards for all postal workers.

But the motion failed to garner majority support and was rejected by Frank Heemskerk, the Social Democrat deputy minister in charge of the liberalisation.

Hemskerk said he will monitor competitors to see whether their workers are earning less than the minimum wage, and will inform parliament this autumn if he finds it necessary to force Sandd and Selekt Mail to pay hourly wages.

Yesterday, the deputy minister told de Pers, a Dutch newspaper, that, 'If we see that employers are using the free market as a short cut to hiring cheaper personnel, we'll move toward legal protection.'

Both the Abvakako FNV labour union and the TNT works council have complained, with the former calling it 'anti-social and naive' to allow companies to pay mail carriers per delivery. The latter says allowing such schemes will force job cuts at TNT.

In an open letter to Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the BVPP said yesterday that TNT's 55,000 workers 'are not scared of competition,' but that they expect future job cuts to exceed existing predictions 'if no end is called to the unfair competition TNT is faced with.'

An Abvakabo spokesperson said her union is not currently planning any demonstrations, but the works council said it thinks industrial action is possible, including stunts 'such as blocking the competition's facilities with TNT freight trucks.'

BVPP representative Cor Verbogt said that 'the readiness for action is high,' but that no labour actions will be taken until after BVPP has completed consultations with its members and other parties, such as TNT, in early May.

Verbogt said he will meet with parliamentarians this afternoon in an effort to convince the Christian Democrats, the largest Dutch political party, that 'letter carriers at Selekt Mail and Sandd must be paid under a general workers agreement.'

'They're paid less than minimum wage,' he said, 'while TNT has to deal with its 'universal service obligations' (the company's requirement under the law to provide basic postal services, post offices and mail boxes as well as deliveries six days a week),' which he says will force TNT to make cuts that will hurt workers.

TNT Post spokesman Toby Ellson confirmed that the company is cautiously optimistic about market liberalisation and 'anxiously awaiting' the outcome of the vote.

Parliament was expected to pass the bill late this afternoon with an 'emergency brake' provision that the open market can be closed again if Germany fails to open its own domestic mail market. However, both Cor Berbogt and Toby Ellson told Thomson Financial News that they expect delays.

'It will be pushed to Thursday,' the TNT spokesman said, 'because there is still disagreement on certain aspects.'

Those aspects include a cap on stamp prices. In previous debates, two Dutch parties proposed a a maximum margin for activities that are part of TNT's universal service obligation, because those activities, which account for an estimated one-third of TNT's activities, will not face competition.

Last week, deputy minister Heemskerk told parliament that in lieu of a margin cap, stamp prices would be studied and fixed next year with the added provision that TNT may not increase prices by more than inflation.

That compromise has 'apparently' not been settled, according to Ellson.

A parliamentary spokesman could not confirm the voting delay and said scheduling matters would be dealt with later this afternoon.