Tag: UNI

Union delegation demands TNT pay decent wages and cooperates only with proper unions

Posted by | Apr 1, 2008 | |

A Union Delegation, headed by Neil Anderson, Head of Department UNI Post and Logistics, and Rolf Büttner, UNI President Post and Logistics, along with UNI’s Dutch affiliates FNV Bondgenoten and ABVAKABO, German affiliate ver.di and an ITF delegation lead by its General Secretary David Cockcroft, met together in Amsterdam to discuss their concerns about the global activities of the TNT Group.

Given the numerous problems that have arisen in the TNT Group, the trade union representatives agreed that a regular social dialogue between UNI, the ITF and their affiliated organisations was essential. To achieve this, some sort of global network and global union structure is needed. The aim is to ensure that at the end of the dialogue process an global framework agreement can be signed that will ensure respect for internationally recognised labour and social standards.

The situation in Germany and the events at TNT Post were also discussed. TNT refuses to recognise the minimum legal wage that has been adopted in Germany. TNT announced that it intended to challenge the legality of the minimum wage for the postal sector in the German courts, even if this were to take several years. Until such time, it would refuse to pay the minimum wage. Until there was a final ruling, it intended to apply the agreement signed by the employer-financed pseudo union GNBZ. The wages paid under this agreement are way below the minimum wages negotiated by UNI’s German affiliate ver.di and the largest employers’ federation of German postal service providers, and which were made legally binding by a statutory order issued by the Federal government.

Read More

Unions meet with TNT and seek dialogue to secure rights for workers globally

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

UNI along with the ITF, Verdi and the Dutch unions FNV Bondgenoten and Abvakabo, met with TNT management to discuss the unions’ concerns about TNT not adhering to minimum social and labour standards throughout the world. UNI has been running a campaign to support Ver.di in Germany where they are demanding that TNT pay the legal minimum wage that was set for postal workers by the German parliament.

The union delegation also expressed its concern at the apparent support for a “ghost” or “bogus” union that has been set up in the postal sector and which has clearly been funded by at least one of the post companies opposing the minimum wage.

The delegation asked that TNT respect the German minimum wage and that it would agree not to carry out social dumping and to pay decent wages wherever it set up its letter business. TNT said if the German court told it that they must pay the minimum wage they would abide by that decision, however there is now expected to be a considerable number of court actions over some lengthy period as the Ministry of Labour in German appeals the latest decision by a Berlin court.

The Union delegation also insisted that TNT not support any “bogus” unions and deal with real independent unions and to have further discussions with UNI and the ITF on developing a proper global social dialogue and meeting basic labour standards and workers rights while paying socially acceptable wages. TNT agreed to consider this request.

Read More

There should be an investigation into the legality of the TNT

Posted by | Mar 12, 2008 | |

UNI’s German affiliate, Ver.di, has called for a proper investigation into the set up of the “ghost” union in TNT Germany, GNBZ. There are real doubts as to the validity of this union which TNT now claims to have a collective agreement with and which is being used in recent court cases as a reason to refuse to pay the minimum wage for postal services as determined by the German Government.

The Public Prosecutors office is now investigating whether this union, which is neither a registered trade union or society, has a proper legal basis. It appears that its expenses are financed by others and not by the “members” and that indeed there is real concern that this union has real members and a democratically elected executive body. Further investigations are now under way.

Read More

Protests as TNT breaks German pay law

Posted by | Jan 16, 2008 | |

UNI is urging affiliates to join the protests against Dutch-based post and logistics giant TNT for undermining laws in Germany to protect postal workers as the sector is de-regulated.

UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings has accused TNT of “dubious actions in Germany” in a protest to the Amsterdam-based group’s Chief Executive Peter Bakker.
Under pressure from UNI affiliate ver.di and SPD coalition partners, the German government has introduced a legally binding minimum wage for the postal sector to ensure that rival operators do not drive conditions down in a race to the bottom to win postal business.

TNT-Post Germany – a subsidiary of TNT Group – is refusing to comply with the postal minimum wage (set at up to 9.80 euro an hour) and collective agreements negotiated by ver.di, which is the established postal union in Germany

Instead of dealing with ver.di, TNT has recognised a new union with dubious credentials to cover its operation in Germany and to negotiate agreements below collective and legal minimum standards.

The move puts at risk social provisions that governments introduce and unions negotiate to protect nearly two million postal workers in Europe as de-regulation is pushed across the European Union by 2011 for most countries and by 2013 for the remaining countries.

UNI is urging Mr Bakker to comply with Germany’s minimum wage and wants affiliates to send similar calls to the TNT CEO.

The new TNT-Post Germany union has failed to win approval of a German court to be registered. The leaders of the new union come directly from the executive offices of a postal provider and its financing is clouded in mystery.

The German labour minister has expressed serious doubts about the conduct.

Read More

Labour news from UNI global union

Posted by | Jan 11, 2008 | |

An extraordinary meeting of UNI Post & Logistics global union has given the go ahead to step up campaigning across the sector. A key target is DHL.

A global alliance of DHL trade unions is being launched to build union membership and to win a global agreement that recognises labour rights wherever DHL operates around the world.

UNI – which already has DHL organising projects in Hong Kong and Latin America – will direct the campaign and help develop the research on which specific activities will be based. Verdi, which is the home union for Deutsche Post, will also play a key role.
It was agreed to set up a Steering Group to oversee the campaign that will also lay the foundations for future campaigns in other post and logistic multinationals.

The meeting agreed to step up cooperation with the International Transport Workers Federation as boundaries between postal operators and transport/logistics giants become increasingly blurred with de-regulation of postal services well underway in Europe and Japan.

Meeting advisor Paul Goulter with Post & Logistics President Rolf Büttner

UNI Post & Logistics is to set up a UNI Regulation Watch to assist affiliates in challenging the increasingly political decisions of postal regulators.

Many of their decisions determine how effective protection will be for the universal postal service, on which communities and jobs depend. Unions will have to become increasingly nimble as new and often-small private operators increasingly employ workers in the sector.

Unions are to be encouraged to help develop new services in the traditional postal operators – like delivering remittance money across the world for migrant workers to support families back home. The aim is to challenge the growing trend by governments under a political agenda to cut back the activities of traditional operators and allow outside private companies to cherry pick their services.

In Europe protection for traditional postal operators will disappear from 2011/13 as a result of a decision by the European Union while Japan Post is already in a ten-year process of division and privatisation.

“Europe has come up with a rotten piece of legislation,” UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings told the meeting in Nyon, Switzerland. “The EU has washed its hands of protecting the postal service and we have to help national trade unions defend this key service to the public.”

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What’s the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

MER Magazine


The Mail & Express Review (MER) Magazine is our quarterly print publication. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, MER is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to MER

 

News Archive

Pin It on Pinterest