UNI Global Union and PostEurop Sign New Joint Declaration on Postal Sector Evolution

UNI Post & Logistics Global Union and PostEurop, the organisation rep- resenting public postal operators in Europe, signed and released a new Joint Declaration on Postal Sector Evolution Wednesday in Brussels. UNI & PostEurop are the recognized social partners in the European Social Dialogue Committee for the Postal Sector (SDC). Signing the document (and pictured here, r to l) are John Baldwin, Head of Interna- tional Affairs, Communication Workers Union (UK) and vice-chair of the SDC and Dominique Bailly, of (France) and SDC chairman. The joint declaration recognizes the ongoing transformation in the postal sector and the need for continued dialogue between social partners re- garding its impacts. The partners reaffirm their support of change man- agement as an important tool during the transformation. They are equally dedicated to the provision of universal postal services in the EU. Four key principles lie at the heart of the new joint declaration: - Better anticipation of ongoing changes in the sector. - Constructive cooperation regarding policies addressing change. - Development of employees' competences and employability. - Encouragement of investment in the sector. With those principles in mind, UNI and PostEurop commit to work to ensure fair competition in the sector and continued monitoring of postal regulation in social terms. n°04 April, n°04 April, 2012 UNI P&L Norwegian Postal Workers bargain new col- CONTENTS lective agreements UNI & PostEurop sign new Social Dialogue Accord The Norwegian Postal Workers Union, Postkom, has finished bargaining Norwegian Postal Workers Bargain New Agree- three of their collective contracts and are now seeking members en- ments dorsement for the settlements. Retirement of UNI P&L Assistant Margaret Schwarz For members in Norway Post chief negotiator Ingeborg Saetre has rec- ommended accepting the new agreement. She said; “We have obtained Egyptian Postal Workers Struggle for Two-Day a satisfactory result. 70% of members participated in the pre- Wekeend negotiations debate and their feedback therefore provided clear guide- Philip Bowyer Awarded Honorary CWU Member- lines for Postkom’s priorities in the negotiations. - We have achieved a ship result that also reflects the company's financial ability, and with a high JPGU Reacts to new round of postal reform social profile” NALC Releases White Paper on USPS Future Along with some changes to social conditions, there is a general wage CWU Invite Royal Chief to Conference increase and increases in morning and afternoon supplements and to US Postal Workers react to Senate reform pro- the additional fee for work on Saturday and Sunday. There was also posal agreement on the conditions for workers whose jobs are moved and some pilot schemes for managers bonus schemes. CUPW sign 40-for-40 campaign pledge For workers in the Bring Warehousing company and the Bring Express company the negotiations were difficult because of the economic situa- tion in the company which had made a loss and which is operating in tough competitive environment

“Despite the company's financial capability, we have reached the finish with a result that gives members the real wage increase,” said chief ne- gotiator Ingeborg Saetre.

The Bring Warehouse members had prioritised their objectives on www.uniglobalunion.org achieving money claims and the Retirement of Marga- postal workers took part in a result of the negotiations reflects number of strikes in April to pro- that requirement. It has been ret Schwarz test Post's decision to force agreed that there will be a gen- postal workers back to work on eral annual supplement and in Saturdays for a six-day work addition it was agreed that there week. will be a “pot” to be divided One of the independent postal equally with those on the lowest unions negotiated a two-day wages. weekend following the postal

The Bring Express members had strike in September 2011. This prioritised their objectives on agreement was implemented on achieving money claims and is- January 1, 2012. Furthermore, sues related to competence. The the Minister of State for Adminis- result of the negotiations reflected trative Development issued a de- that requirement. It has been cision that all public sector staff agreed that there will be a gen- Longtime department assistant should have Friday’s and Satur- eral annual supplement and in Margaret Schwarz announced day’s off work. However, Egypt addition a supplement for low her well-deserved retirement from Post has not applied this decision wage earners. They also agreed UNI Global Union last month. to postal workers who are also to pay for the five officially recog- Margaret worked for UNI (and its public sector employees. nised certificates per year are predecessors, PTTI and CI) for relevant to the enterprise and the 26 years! In that time she was P. Bowyer, Honorary individuals jobs and when the great at keeping the "grumpy old Member of CWU training is completed with an ap- men" she was dealing with from proved trade certificate awarded getting into too much of a mess Billy Hayes, CWU UK General the workers will get an increase in with their meetings, documents, Secretary, at the union's 2012 salary. budgets etc. Conference, conferred a very deserved honorary membership For the Retail and Office workers, Margaret worked as an adminis- of the union to Philip Bowyer, Postkom has agreed with the Fi- trative assistant for Philip Bowyer, former Deputy General Secretary nancial Services Employers' As- John Pedersen and most recently of UNI Global Union. In making sociation for a new collective for Neil Anderson. UNI is ever so the award, Jane Loftus, President agreement. grateful to Margaret for the great of the CWU, referred to the fact work she did in making sure all that Philip had started working for our meetings went smoothly and the union in the 1970's and had we got all our documents, meet- gone on to become the General ing notices and all those transla- Secretary of the PTTI (later to tions and papers on time! become Communications Interna- tional - CI). When that organisa- One of Margaret’s first projects in tion merged with three other The agreement includes a gen- retirement will be enjoying her global union federations, forming eral increase in salary rates of new life as a grandmother! UNI Global Union, Philip served 1.85%, and made adjustments to During the UNI P&L World Meet- as the Deputy General Secretary the pay scale. There was also ing in Nyon, UNI and the affiliates until his retirement in 2010. agreement on a restriction on the present at the meeting will be use of temporary staff, and where having a special celebration for Loftus said that Philip had deliv- the “equal treatment principle” Margaret and thanking her for the ered outstanding service to com- has been introduced. The parties fantastic work she has done on munication workers throughout also agreed on a new basic col- behalf of postal workers around the world in his long and ex- lective contract. the world. tremely worthwhile career with the global trade union movement. In all cases the Postkom Board of Egyptians fight for She said there was no doubt that Directors has endorsed the nego- Philip had made a valuable con- tiation result and is recommend- Weekend tribution to improving the lives ing to members to vote yes at the Around one hundred Egyptian and freedoms of workers in all referendum. parts of the world and he was a

2 www.uniglobalunion.org deserving recipient of the highest to restructure the current five- "shrink to survive" is not likely a honour that the CWU could give company structure into a four- successful path out of the finan- to members, that is honorary company system, merging the cial crisis it faces. Lazard out- membership. Service and the Ja- lines an alternative business pan Post Network to resolve the model which leverages the Postal In his response to receiving hon- problem of segmented operations Service's networks to grow in the orary membership, Philip told between the two companies. The parcel business, expands ser- delegates that he accepted it with merged company will expand its vices and allows for greater prod- a great deal of pride. Pride that operations so it can meet users' uct and pricing flexibility. he had been able to take the specific needs. The merger will skills he had learned at the union The white paper, "Delivering allow delivery people to make and to use them to help better Change to Revitalize and Ameri- deposits for customers. This new workers lives globally. He said can Icon", urges policymakers to law obligates post offices to pro- the job hadn't always been easy adopt a strategy for USPS which vide universal postal and financial and he also felt pride that he had avoids a narrow focus on cost services across Japan. been able to be part of the trade cutting. Instead, USPS ought to union movement's efforts to focus on growth opportunities, The revised law stipulates that stamp out apartheid in South Af- particularly in the growing parcels the JP Holdings should sell all of rica, to build the Solidarnosc market as USPS's track and trace its Japan Post Bank, and Japan trade union movement in Poland technology comes more fully on Post Insurance shares "as early and build free and independent line. Lazard also suggests that as possible." This legislation can unions in countries such as Chile policymakers consider expanding allow the government to retain with the ousting of the Pinochet commercial flexibility of the Postal control of the banking, mail and regime. Service. Currently, USPS faces insurance for years to come. one of the world's tightest restric- He said he believed this award When it finishes disposing of tions on what products and ser- recognised the responsibility that more than half of the two compa- vices it may offer. The paper CWU members had placed in him nies' shares, they will be allowed goes on to suggest that reform of to carry out the aspirations of UK to enter new business fields the Postal Service's governance workers for better jobs and work- through the simplified procedure and oversight be reconsidered as ing conditions for communica- of reporting the government. well, particularly with regard to tions workers globally and he was the standards surrounding pen- proud to have served the union in The legislation of the postal re- sion and benefits funding. this way. form law will eliminate inflexibility exposed in the wake of the Great CWU Invite Royal JPGU React to Japan Earthquake. At the same time, according to this new postal Mail Chief to Confer- Postal Bill Passage reform act, profits from the sale of The current postal law in Japan two-thirds of the shares of Japan ence privatized and broke up the Ja- Post Holdings will be used to help Moya Greene, chief executive of pan Public Postal Corporation reconstruct the earthquake- and Royal Mail, addressed postal into the Japan Post Group in Oc- tsunami- hit Tohoku region. workers at the Communication tober 1, 2007. It has proved to be Workers Union postal conference unfavorable to postal customers NALC Release White last month in Bournemouth. In and postal workers alike. Paper her address, Greene pointed to The main points of this new legis- some of the positive changes that lation are to reorganize the Japan The National Association of Letter CWU and Royal Mail have Post Group (JP Group), by selling Carriers has released a white achieved together in the 21 off the financial section shares of paper from the international finan- months she her appointment. JP Holdings, and so on. The Ja- cial advisory firm Lazard which These included a resolution to the pan Postal Group (JPGU) wel- outlines an alternative vision for pension deficit and improvements comed this new legislation, say- the future of the United States to regulation. From her perspec- ing it will eliminate many of the Postal Service. Lazard's analysis tive, Royal Mail's greatest threat problems created by the postal determined that the Postal Ser- is from outside companies that privatization. vice's greatest strength is its have begun end-to-end delivery "unparalleled last-mile delivery in the UK. She noted that more This legislation makes it possible network" and that USPS's plan to work must be done within the www.uniglobalunion.org 3

regulatory structure to ensure fair that switching to five-day delivery competition, noting that Royal could cost as much as 80,000 Next Events: Mail delivers to every door, six- postal jobs. days-a-week for a uniform price. NPMHU credited its activists' lob- Greene recognized CWU mem- UNI P&L World Committee Meeting bying for the defeat of amend- bers' commitment to their jobs 25-26 June; Nyon, Switzerland ments which would have and said she is eager to work "privatized the USPS, forced re- together to make Royal Mail more UNI Americas P&L Committee Meeting tirement eligible employees to competitive. 27 June; Nyon, Switzerland leave postal employment, abro-

Dave Ward, Deputy General Sec- gated union contracts, ended col- Universal Postal Union Congress retary for Postal, noted that while lective bargaining, and restricted 24 Sept.— 15 October; Doha, Qatar CWU and Royal Mail won't agree political rights of unions and on all issues, there are opportuni- members." ties to work together to help APWU noted that the bill, while Royal Mail compete in the chang- improved, fell short of the ing environment. mark. “Although the bill will pro- US Unions Address vide the USPS with limited relief from the requirement to pre-fund Senate Postal Bill healthcare benefits for future re- tirees, it does not provide suffi- Last month, the United States cient relief. As a result, the USPS Senate adopted S.1789, also will not have access to the capital known as the 21st Century Postal it needs to meet the challenges of Service Act, by a vote of 62 to 37. the future." UNI affiliates National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Ameri- With S.1789 passed in the Sen- can Postal Workers Union ate, consideration of postal re- (APWU) and National Postal Mail form will now return to the House Handlers Union (NPMHU) cam- of Representatives. All three un- paigned for months for amend- ions have urged their members to ments to the bill, as they seek be on the ready to fight for sensi- sensible solutions to the Postal ble legislation that will return the Service's financial situation. Postal Service to sustainability and protect their jobs. While the unions were able to secure some of the their desired CUPW Sign 40-for-40 amendments, the final version of the contains several elements the Pledge unions oppose. If enacted, the Denis Lemelin, National Presi- bill would return to USPS $11 dent of the Canadian Union of billion in overpayments to one of Postal Workers (CUPW), signed its pension schemes. Yet the bill the 40 for 40 declaration on April does not address the larger sur- 20, 2012. UNI Women launched plus in the other fund and fails to the 40 for 40 campaign following fully lift the future health care pay- the UNI World Congress in Na- ments that have crippled USPS gasaki in 2010. The goal is to finances in recent years. strive to achieve representation of UNI Global Union The bill also calls for a continua- at least 40% of both genders in 8-10 Av. Reverdil tion of current service standards, all decision-making bodies, meet- 1260 Nyon including six-day delivery, for a ing delegations, and other similar period of not less than two years. structures within the affiliated un- Switzerland Although an amendment to im- ions and UNI itself. To date, 233 Tel: + 41 22 365 21 32/47 mediately allow five-day delivery union leaders have signed onto Fax: + 41 22 365 21 21 was defeated, NALC was disap- the campaign around the world. [email protected] pointed, saying in a statement www.uniglobalunion.org

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