TNT to ask for delay of Dutch postal liberalisation

TNT said it will ask the Dutch parliament to delay liberalisation of the country’s postal market, set for Jan. 1, as a proposed deal on minimum postal wages in Germany would rule out a level playing field in Europe.

“We want to make clear to parliament that there is no level playing field. It is an implicit call to pull the emergency break,” a TNT spokesman said on Friday, referring to a condition in the Dutch postal liberalisation law that allows for possible implementation later.

The Dutch postal law would end TNT’s monopoly on delivering letters of up to 50 grams and is part of a European Union effort to liberalise mail services.

But a wage agreement proposed in Germany would result in higher costs for TNT, making it difficult for TNT’s nascent operations in Germnay to become profitable.

TNT shares were up 4.9 percent at 28.17 euros at 1519 GMT, with analysts saying it could benefit from keeping its monopoly longer.

TNT competes in the Netherlands with privately held Sandd and Deutsche Post’s Selekt Mail.

Shares in Deutsche Post were up 2.5 percent at 23.29 euros as traders said a German minimum wage would limit market share losses for Deutsche Post in Germany.

German services union Verdi and the postal employers’ association have agreed on a new formula for their wage contract which could open the way to a deal on a minimum wage in the sector, the union said on Thursday.

The formulation is a response to worries from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives that Deutsche Post’s competitors, who pay lower wages, could be hit if a minimum wage of between 8 and 9.8 euros was brought in for the whole sector, as the SPD wants.

TNT, which pays an average wage of about 7.5 euros to its German employees, will also talk to the German government, saying that the minimum wage agreement would hinder competition and could cost German jobs, the TNT spokesman said.

The Dutch parliament will discuss the postal law on Dec. 6, addressing the postal market in Germany and labour conditions for Dutch postal employees, amongst other issues.

Separately, TNT and Dutch trade unions had agreed on extending the present collective labour agreement to Apr. 1, TNT said in a statement.