PostNL and trade unions reach agreement in principle on collective labour agreements
The Hague - PostNL and the trade unions Bond van Post Personeel (BVPP), CNV Publieke Diensten and VHP2 have reached agreements in principle regarding a new PostNL collective labour agreement (CLA) and a new CLA for Saturday deliverers. These three unions will positively present the agreements to their members. A fourth union participating in the negotiations, FNV, will also submit the proposals to their members. Parties agreed a salary increase of 3 percent over 15 months. Agreements were also made on pension accrual, sustainable employability and hiring more parcel delivery staff.
Duration and salary increases
The new PostNL CLA will retroactively apply from 1 January 2019 up to and including 31 March 2020. The salary increase of in total 3 percent will be implemented in 3 steps. In addition, all employees covered by this CLA working full-time, will be paid a one-time compensation of 100 euro net in January 2020.
Employment
PostNL aims to create new jobs for more people. It has therefore been agreed that 500 extra parcel delivery staff will be hired in 2019, in order to facilitate the growth in Parcels and to reduce the workload for employees. In addition, PostNL will offer permanent contracts to 200 parcel deliverers with temporary positions, and to 30 parcel sorters in the international sorting centre in The Hague. The topic of contracting (hiring external agencies to organize parcel sorting in the evening and night shifts) was extensively discussed with the unions. Despite the fact PostNL was willing and ready to agree a different approach, it turned out that FNV was, regrettably, unwilling to come to an agreement.
Consultations
The outcome of the consultations is expected on 28 February 2019. The CLA for PostNL applies to approximately 18,000 PostNL employees. The CLA for Saturday deliverers applies to approximately 500 employees in total. Postal deliverers have a separate CLA.
About PostNL
We are PostNL, the mail and logistics solutions provider for all. With our mail and parcel deliverers who get everywhere, our 5,500 PostNL locations, 11.000 mail boxes and 517 automated parcel lockers, we are always nearby. We aim to be our customers’ favourite deliverer by making it as easy as possible for them to send and receive parcels and letters. Our over 35,000 people are right at the heart of society. On weekdays, we deliver an average 1.1 million parcels and 7.4 million letters across the Benelux region. Our focus is on quality for our customers, creating opportunities for our people and adding value for our stakeholders through growth, digitalisation and sustainability initiatives.
We optimise and support our physical networks by using smart digital solutions and launching new propositions that create value for our customers. We build long-lasting working relationships by acting as a good employer and client for everyone who works for and with us. To make our deliveries as sustainable as possible, we cover a lot of kilometres on foot or by bicycle or e-bike, provide innovative city logistics, use cleaner fuels, and use electric vans and light electric trucks. PostNL NV is a listed company with revenues of €3.1 billion in 2022, 61% of this derived from e-commerce. We provide deliveries of mail and parcels, logistics solutions for e-commerce, and cross-border solutions.