TNT open for new talks with postal unions

TNT said on 1 July it was open to discussing a new labour accord at its mail division after a survey showed staff would be willing to consider pay and benefit cuts, report Reuters.

TNT said on 1 July it was open to discussing a new labour accord at its mail division after a survey showed staff would be willing to consider pay and benefit cuts, report Reuters.

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In April, postal union members rejected a draft accord that included wage cuts, prompting the Dutch company to raise the prospect of thousands of forced redundancies.

But TNT said the survey showed employees would work under less favourable conditions in exchange for temporary job guarantees.

TNT was therefore open to restarting negotiations with unions, board member Harry Koorstra told Dutch news agency ANP in an interview.

TNT is aiming for cost savings of $557m annually until the end of 2015, partly through the loss of up to 11,000 jobs as well as pay and benefit cuts, to compensate for a decline in mail volumes, a spokesman said.

However, the number of forced redundancies would depend on the outcome of any new talks with unions, the spokesman said. Some 23,000 staff work at TNT’s mail unit.