PostNL gains final approval from unions on new pay deal
Dutch postal service PostNL has sealed a final agreement with unions over a new pay deal for mail and parcel employees. The firm which has been facing steep volume declines in its letter business said the new collective bargaining agreement with the trade unions Abvakabo FNV, BVPP, CNV Publieke Zaak and VHP2 ensures a “solid future” for its business.
The deal is based on a 1% pay increase retrospective for 2013, along with a pay rise of 0.5% from April 2013, 2.1% from 1 January 2014 and 0.5% from the start of July 2014.
PostNL said the agreement sees employee contributions to their pension funds doubled to 4% from the start of 2014 in order to keep the pension programme “affordable”.
The company is cutting overtime bonus pay for production staff working on Saturdays to 30%, reducing to 20% from the end of December 2014.
The number of Saturdays off for production staff has also been cut in half, to 13 in 2014, while in 2015 staff wanting a Saturday off will have to take it as a vacation day.
Older letter carriers will be able to choose to work a part-time arrangement, PostNL said, in which they can work two days a week less until their retirement, while retaining 80% of their salary.
“Opportunities”
Commenting on the agreement, PostNL chief executive Herna Verhagen said it offered “good opportunities” for both employees and the company itself.
“On balance, the increase in labour costs is moderate, combined with broader employment possibilities for our employees. As a result, we are taking yet another step towards further adapting our company,” she said, referring to the adaptation of PostNL to its declining mail volumes.
PostNL employs about 59,000 people including its international operations, and generated almost EUR 4.3bn in revenue in 2013.
The company’s domestic mail business saw its addressed mail volume decline by 11.9% in 2013 compared to the year before, as more customers switched to Internet communications alternatives. The decline was an acceleration of the 9% decline seen the year before.
PostNL is currently responding to the volume declines by restructuring its network, to cut the number of sites by 50% by 2015, from the 260 sites that were operating in 2013.
More than 115 sites have already been closed, while a leaner management structure at head office and reorganization of sales and marketing have also been carried out.
