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Liberalisation of the postal market in the Netherlands Social aspects

Liberalisation of the postal market in the Netherlands Social aspects. Contents:. Brief history of TNT Post, liberalisation Dutch market and new companies Some figures of the Dutch postal market and postal workers Labour conditions TNT Post vs new companies Problems TNT Post

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Liberalisation of the postal market in the Netherlands Social aspects

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  1. Liberalisation of the postal market in the NetherlandsSocial aspects

  2. Contents: • Brief history of TNT Post, liberalisation Dutch market and new companies • Some figures of the Dutch postal market and postal workers • Labour conditions TNT Post vs new companies • Problems TNT Post • Pre-liberalisation agreement failed • Solutions Dutch postal market (?) • Conclusions and lessons

  3. Brief history: TNT Post and liberalisation TNT Post: 1989: PTT was privatised, name changed in KPN. 1994: KPN went public, listed at stock exchange. 1996: KPN took over transport/express company TNT. 1998: splitting up of Mail (TNT Post) and Telecom (KPN). (2011: splitting up of Mail and Express). Liberalisation in phases: Before 2000: monopoly TNT < 500 grams 2000: monopoly TNT < 100 grams 2006: monopoly TNT < 50 grams 2009: full market opening.

  4. Brief history: new competitors In 2000 Sandd on the market, in 2002: SelektMail (DHL). 2011: Sandd has taken over SelektMail. Business-model new companies: self-employed part-time deliverers without ordinary labourcontracts, paid per adress/piece, below statutory minimum. 2 days a week delivery and most profitabele parts of the market Answers TNT Post: 2003: new part-time deliverers, We agreed on a specific, cheaper CLA. 2006: own low-cost carrierVSP, with 1 day a week delivery to maintain or win back volume. But also: compete own market!

  5. Some figures Dutch postal market Volumes of adressed mail (without parcels): 2000 - 2009: decline of 20%. TNT Post expects another 30% decline next 5 yrs. 2010: -9%! Tariffs: War on tariffs since market opening. Average tariffs bulk < 50 gr: TNT 2008: 0,38 € new companies 2010: 0,15 € (minimum voor CLA-based labour contracts: 0,24 €) Postal market is volume-driven: with declining volumes and 70% labour costs, more competition is asking for big social problems!

  6. Some figures Dutch postal workers TNT Post: number of traditional postmen in 2005: 20.000 (15.000 fte) in 2010: 16.000 (11.000 fte) number of part-time deliverers in 2005: 6000 (1400 fte) in 2010: 13.000 (3000 fte) 2014: 30.000 deliverers and 0 postmen ??? Sandd, SelektMail and VSP: in total 30.000 part-time deliverers.

  7. 24.00 x3 • 15.00 • 12.70 6.00 -8.00 Self employeddeliverer Sandd, DHL,VSP Mail deliverer TNT Postclose to Dutch minimum wage(€ 8.21) Traditional Mailman TNT Post • Cost employer • Wage The gap in labour conditions€ per hour

  8. Labour conditions: causes of the gap The mail deliverers of the new companies have: No labour contract (because they are so called self-employed) No CLA No paid holiday No sick leave pay No unemployment benefits No disability insurance No employment protection. The government was not willing tot outlaw self-employed deliverers.

  9. Problems TNT Post • Due to volume decline and competition TNT cuts 11.000 jobs in 2010 – 2012. Would lead to 4500 compulsary redundancies. • 2009: in principle agreement to avoid compulsary redundancies by lowering labour conditions . Rejected by our members. • Last year: massive strikes to lower the number of redundancies. • Result: total restructuring goes on, but we forced to create/maintain 1900 jobs (so 2600 redundancies remain). • Maximum effort to avoid unemployment for the TNT-workers: TNT Mobility helps with finding new jobs. • Furthermore: every day more efficiency. Workers are fed up with work load, abuses and intimidation.

  10. Pre-liberalisation agreement failed Conditions for opening up the whole market: CLA for deliverers all new companies:- wages at legal minimumlevel- in 3,5 yrs from 0 to 80% labour contracts (phase out of self-employed). Administrative Decree from the government:no CLA with agreement about gradually phasing out self-employed, ‘’penalty’’ is at once 100% labour contracts. But the agreement failed. Fairly all deliverers still are self employed and paid by the piece. New companies: ‘’our deliverers don’t want contracts and we can’t afford them’’. => open market, with full competition at labour conditions.

  11. Solutions Dutch postal market. • Forced by strikes, the government called in a mediator. Advice: • the new companies have to phase out the self employed. • the government should arrange in Postal Law that 80% labour contracts is obligatory. • New companies and trade unions have to make a new CLA and phasing out - model before April 1st. • Tariffs have to move up! Duopoly (Sandd taking over SelektMail) will help. Temporary fund to finance the labour contracts. • If no agreement with unions: government has to determine. Broad political concensus that labour contracts with at least legal minimum wage should be dominant. • 1st April 2011, unions reached a new agreement. • Government will change Postal Law in order to enforce the agreement.

  12. Conclusions and lessons The combination of declining mail volumes, increased automation and low cost competition is ‘killing’ for wages and other labour conditions, skill levels and employment. Dutch unions have underestimated the effects and consequences of liberalisation: try to look further ahead in the future! A neccesary condition is a real level playing field before opening up the market! Guarantees in postal law and one CLA for all companies. Think early about social change and migration to other jobs.

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