Postal union agrees to 15% wage cut

Postal unions have agreed a 15% wage cut for the 23,000 workers at TNT Post in return for a promise that there will not be any compulsory redundancies at the firm during the first three years of the pay deal.


The new agreement (cao), announced on Monday evening, has not yet been approved by the union members. ‘It will be difficult to explain to our members,’ AbvaKabo FNV union negotiater Peter Wiechmann told the AD. ‘But the alternative is mass redundancies of up to 11,000 workers.’
The 15% cut, which takes effect on April 1, will be compensated for by TNT Post for its existing workers, who will keep 95% of their present salary for a transitional period.
The length of the transitional period depends on age and length of service. Workers who are 50-years-old and above will receive compensation until their retirement.
The new agreement will save €125m a year, according to media reports. The transitional payments, which include a budget for training, will cost a one-off €275m, according to the NRC.
The main reason for the reduction in wages is the continuing decrease in the number of letters being mailed, according to the AD. In addition TNT’s monopoly on the letters market is due to end on April 1 when the company, currently Europe’s second largest mail and express group, will have to compete on the open market.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation