Sweden faces mail shut-down, as union threatens strike

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Sweden faces mail service shut-down, as union threatens strike

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Postal workers in Sweden look set to take industrial action from Wednesday, over a wage dispute.

Scandinavian postal operator PostNord warned today that industrial action planned to start mid-week could shut down mail services for the whole of Sweden by the end of this week.

Communications industry union SEKO called the strike action last week after failing to secure its demands in labour contract negotiations with management organisation Almega Tjänsteförbunden.

The strike notice calls for “total stoppage” among the union’s 2,200 members at PostNord, the parent company of Sweden Post, and also at Bring City Mail, the company owned by Norway Post, which operates in Sweden.

Action would begin at midnight on 18th September, with no definitive end announced.

Janne Rudén, the federal chairman of SEKO, said the union was demanding a wage increased based on a flat rate amount for all staff, whereas management organisation Almega was proposing a sliding-scale increase based on percentage of salary.

The union is arguing that basing pay increases on percentage of salaries meant higher paid staff would receive more, with those at the lowest pay grades receiving the least.

“This involves difference of hundreds of kronor a month for those who earn the least,” he said. “The percentage system leads to a labour market where the poverty gap is increasing.”

Rudén claimed that Almega was unwilling to negotiate despite several attempts by the union to find a negotiated solution. As a result, the union aims to pile on the pressure with its strike threat.

SEKO negotiations secretary Valle Karlsson said: “We believe that our strike notice against Almega making hits at their member companies, and therefore it is a surprise that Almega is letting its ideology take precedence over the care of its member companies.”

PostNord

PostNord said today that it was in the important final stage of mediation negotiations with SEKO and Almega, with the goal of avoiding the industrial action intended to begin on 18th September.

The company said industrial action could “very quickly lead to major disruptions” in the distribution of letters and parcels throughout Sweden.

Anders Holm, the CEO Sweden for PostNord Logistics, said: “Our aim and highest priority is, of course, to ensure that industrial action is not initiated so that we can ensure safe delivery for our customers.”

PostNord said it was business as usual until 18th September, but if industrial action begins mid-week, services will gradually grind to a halt until at the end of the week production will “basically shut down for the whole of Sweden”.

Andreas Falkenmark, the president of Postal Communications for PostNord, said: “Industrial action would be very unfortunate. Our hope is that the mediators will find a mutually acceptable compromise as soon as possible.”

[Shambles]

Very interesting....

Seems like Postal workers Globally are being treated like mushrooms!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Swedish postal strike called off as union accepts deal


Sweden’s Service and Communications Union (SEKO) has called off strike action that had threatened to disrupt postal services from today.

The union confirmed last night that it has decided to accept a contract offer made through mediators.

The new deal for its 16,000 members runs from 1 June 2013 to 31 July 2016, based on a SEK 1,700 ($263 USD) pay increase, with a minimum 6.8% increase.

Strike had been planned to start from noon today and would have affected both PostNord, parent company of Sweden Post, and private sector rivals Bring City Mail, as well as two Swedish airlines.

However, SEKO said management organisation Almega accepted its demands for pay increases to be based on flat rate krona amounts, rather than based on a percentage of salary, which would have meant higher pay rises for those already on higher salaries.

The union said resolving this key area of conflict was a “major success” for its negotiations.

Principle

Janne Rudén, the federal chairman for SEKO, said his union’s negotiations had had a real impact.

“The initial view from the other negotiators was that this was a principle they refused even to discuss,” he said. “Now we have challenged this principle and signed a contract stating that salary changes should be based on the krona.”

The union said that while the contract includes a minimum 6.8% pay rise requirement, the fact the deal is based on a krona-based increase meant those on the minimum wage would be getting a pay rise of more than 10%.

“The settlement has a distinct low wage bias – i.e., the less you earn, the more additional money you get,”
said SEKO negotiator Valle Karlsson. “The fact we succeeded in winning a settlement with a krona level is a success that means low income groups will not fall behind.”

[Shambles]

Bravo SEKO,

It's grand to see your members get their fair dues

[baldrick]

Yeah well done SEKO. Shows strike action achieves results.