TPG and unions agree on first CLA for new mail deliverers
TPG and the unions AbvaKabo FNV, BVPP, CNV Publieke Zaak and vhp KPN & TPG have reached an agreement on a first collective labour agreement (CLA) for new mail deliverers. With the introduction of the position of mail deliverer TPG Post has made an important step in the realisation of the Cost Flexibility programmes that are being implemented to keep the company in good financial health. A significant element of the agreement with the unions is the fact that employees currently active as mailmen will keep their current benefit package.
In total a maximum of 9,000 full time equivalent mail man positions will be replaced by new mail deliverers through natural attrition by the year 2013. The position of mail deliverer is new within TPG Post’s distribution organisation. The new position follows from the further automation of the house number sorting process. The mail deliverer will have as his task the home delivery of mail and will therefore only perform part of the job of the current mail man. In addition to the mail deliverers, traditional mail men will continue to be needed for delivery of special mail and the house number sorting. With this new CLA TPG Post will be able to maintain the current high quality of mail delivery, whilst continuing to offer its services at competitive conditions to its customers.
The new CLA for mail deliverers offers a fixed part time employment contract with a base pay almost 10 percent above the minimum wage. In addition, the new CLA offers career advancement opportunities and several fringe benefits. It also includes a separate pension arrangement based on the average wage.
The new CLA is the first one in a series of several separate CLA’s, which TPG wants to agree in order to bring labour conditions for different businesses more in line with those common in their markets. Complementary to those separate CLA’s central agreements about for example salary adjustments and a profit sharing scheme will be covered in a so called framework CLA.
Peter Bakker, CEO of TPG, is pleased with the agreement: "Thanks to this new CLA for mail deliverers we will now able to recruit new employees at labour conditions that are in line with those of our competitors. Therefore, this is an important basis for realising the needed cost savings. At the same time, we haven taken our responsibility as the largest employer in the Netherlands by ensuring the benefit package of current mail men, and by offering the best conditions in this market segment to the new mail deliverers."
The agreed labour conditions differentiation is one of three key components of the current Cost Flexibility programmes that TPG Post has initiated to counter the effects of declining mail volumes and increasing competition in the Dutch market. TPG Post plans to reduce its annual cost base by EUR 320 million in order to protect itself against a potential volume decline of 20 percent.
TPG Post is also planning to achieve savings from further automation of the sorting process (replacing part of the final sorting presently executed by mailmen) and from efficiency measures in its commercial organisation. TPG Post has already announced the expected reduction of about 5,000 full time mailman positions as part of this programme and is planning to achieve this through natural attrition.
TPG, with its two brands TNT and Royal TPG Post, is a global leader in Express, Logistics and Mail. Based in the Netherlands, TPG employs over 148,000 people in 60 countries and serves over 200 countries. The company reported sales of €11.2 billion in 2001 and will announce its 2002 results on 20 February 2003. Since 1998, TPG has been publicly listed on the stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and New York.
