Postal Workers in Europe Take Action

Postal workers from many countries in Europe marched in uniform through Berlin to defend universal postal service.

The May 30th action was part of an escalating campaign organized by Union Network International (UNI) to stop the European Commission plan to remove the only remaining protections for mail under 50 grams by January 1, 2009.  The European Union started deregulating postal service more than a decade ago.  Hundreds of post offices have closed and over 250,000 jobs have been lost.

Another day of action by postal workers across Europe is planned for June 6 as part of a growing campaign to save universal postal service.

“It is the responsibility of this generation of postal union members to fight off this latest attack on the service,” stated Philip Jennings, the General Secretary of UNI. CUPW’s global union federation, UNI, is made up of 900 individual unions with 15.5 million members combined from 140 different countries.

 

Impact on jobs and service in Europe

It is not only unions that think deregulation will mean the end of universal and affordable postal services.  At least 10 postal operators in Europe say there is no plan or assurance on how universal service will be maintained once more private operators move into this market.  Up to now, the monopoly on some products for European post offices has funded the universal service obligation.

Deregulated postal markets have not increased the quality of service or brought lower prices to citizens.  In Sweden 25% of post offices closed and postal jobs collapsed from 70,000 to 38,000.  In New Zealand, 43% of the jobs disappeared while in Italy jobs fell from 220,000 to 150,000.

New operators in the postal market have created far fewer jobs with much lower wages and worse working conditions.  One company is paying a piece rate for letters rather than a wage while another is trying to recruit German school children for a rival postal service.

 

Defending public postal service at home

There is no doubt postal deregulation in Europe will impact other postal administrations around the world. Recently in Canada, the C.D. Howe Institute released a report calling for the privatization and gradual deregulation of Canada Post. In addition, international remailers, who collect mail here and ship it to other countries for processing, have been lobbying Members of Parliament to remove international letters from Canada Post’s exclusive privilege to deliver letters. If this happens, international remailers will continue to siphon off Canada Post’s lettermail volumes and revenues, eroding the post office’s ability to provide service in remote and rural areas.

It will be up to all of us to defend public postal service and jobs at home and around the world.
You can help by:

• Sending letters or e-mails of support to UNI on June 6.

Union Network International
8-10 avenue Reverdil
CH - 1260 Nyon
Switzerland
postal@union-network.org

• Informing CUPW members about postal liberalization at home and abroad, and
  
  
• calling your MP about opposing the privatization and deregulation of Canada Post.

You can get more information about the union's fight against privatization and deregulation from your local and the union's website: http://www.publicpostoffice.ca/