Portugal - Post office workers to strike on 23 February, want public to protest

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/pos ... test/44552" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Employees of Portugal’s privatised postal service company, CTT, have scheduled a nationwide strike and demonstration for 23 February, against job cuts and post office closures, inviting members of the public to join in.

Post office workers to strike on 23 February, want public to protest

The four unions that have called the strike and protest - SNTCT, Sindetelco, Sincor and SINTTAV – made the announcement in a statement in which they also call for privatisation to be reversed to help ensure a quality postal service.

In the joint statement, the unions contest the job losses and closures and what they say is an excess work load for employees charged with delivering post.

"Faced with the destruction of the Public Postal Network and the quality of service by the [board] of CTT, [we] have decided to continue the struggle," the unions said.

They cited meetings with members of the public and local councils, meetings with deputies, and sessions of parliament’s employment and economy committees, as well as meetings with sector regulators. Following these meetings and gatherings of CTT employees nationwide, according to the unions, “the CTT has to increase the number of workers … and post offices that currently exist and not, as announced, close offices and fire workers.”

In the circumstances, given the board’s attitude, the unions said, the “only route” is “the total reversal of privatisation” in line with a petition already submitted to parliament. “The government has to take on its responsibilities with a view to safeguarding the Public Postal Network and so that the Universal Postal Service is once more provided with quality to the public and companies.”

In the statement, the unions also call on members of the public to take part in the demonstration they are planning to stage in Lisbon on the day of the strike.

The CTT on 2 January confirmed plans to close 22 post offices around the country as part of a cost-cutting plan that. According to the company’s Works Council, the closures will affect 52 jobs.

The announcement triggered criticism from local councils and the public. The company has said that the closures “do not bring into question” access to postal services in any region, given the nearby alternatives available and “existing demand”.