Proposed postal market reforms 'creative fix' at best -

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The recommendations of postal market mediator Ruud Vreeman may offer temporary relief but won’t do anything to better the positions of tens of thousands of postal workers in the long run, according to professor of labour relations Paul de Beer in Trouw.


De Beer sees Vreeman’s recommendations as a ‘creative fix’ which will buy time until a lasting solution can be found. ‘How do you oblige postal companies to continue to give 80% of their workers a contract, even when after three years the social fund is abolished?

Will they be so much better off then that there will be no need to fall back on cheaper labour, as they are doing now? These are commercial enterprises after all.’ De Beer also thinks that it will be hard to fight off new competitors who are working below the market rates and who regard workers as self employed and pay them less than the minimum wage.

Social fund

A social fund subsidising better working conditions for postal workers on a more or less permanent basis is a construction that is bound to come a cropper, says De Beer. TNT, for instance, is not happy about contributing to better working conditions for the competition.

‘An understandable point of view’, according to De Beer who would not see any problem with consumers and companies paying more for postal services in order to boost workers’ pay. ‘If successful actions by cleaners result in better pay and working conditions, we all foot the bill.’

De Beer does not think freeing up the postal market has ended in tears. ‘It depends on your point of view. Consumers and companies have benefited from cheaper services but the postal workers’ working conditions have suffered. It’s a choice.’

Consequences

By choosing to free up the postal market politicians have underestimated the consequences, De Beer thinks. ‘Some politicians are regretting the move. PvdA, PVV and SP and a number of MPs could get a majority in parliament and turn the clock back but I doubt it will happen. A lot of companies would haul them into court and there would be clashes with Europe.’

According to the professor, finding a specific solution for the postal workers is not the way to go. ‘We should take a broader view and try to find a more general approach to working conditions. Other sectors are facing the same problems. Look at the Eastern Europeans who are working here as self employed builders. The number of self employed people is growing and not much is being done for them.’

De Beer thinks their interests should be taken into account in collective bargaining agreements. ‘If self employed people from different sectors would be able to organise themselves they might be able to establish minimum rates.’

This is an unofficial translation