Dutch Union agrees to TNT redundancy deal

[POSTMAN]

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A Dutch union has voted in favour of the principle agreement on reducing redundancies at TNT.

The members of Abvakabo FNV voted 57% in favour of the deal, as TNT attempts to acquiesce with the unions ahead of the separation of its mail business.

In December, TNT reached an agreement with various unions to reduce the number compulsory redundancies by 1,700.

Due to falling mail volumes, TNT Post said it required 11,000 jobs to be cut. Allowing for natural attrition and voluntary redundancies, 4,500 compulsory job cuts were originally planned.

The agreement - between TNT and Abvakabo FNV, CNV Publieke Zaak, and BVPP unions - saw that figure reduced to 2,800.

Peter Wiechmann, director at Abvakabo, said he had not expected a huge majority. “The enormous discontent in the workplace played a big role,” he said.

Although the agreement has been adopted Wiechmann added that the union’s work is just beginning: “We have never agreed to redundancies and we will fight for every job.”

Members of CNV Publieke Zaak have until the end of January to vote on the deal.

The principle agreement brought an end to a series of strikes in the Netherlands late last year over the proposed job cuts.