News

Social dialogue between the ITF and UNI and Deutsche Post DHL management has for the first time been publicly acknowledged in a report produced by the company.

During the Deutsche Post DHL annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, on 28 April – attended by ITF and UNI representatives who raised questions on union issues - Deutsche Post DHL chief executive Frank Appel outlined the importance of social dialogue. He quoted from the company’s 2009 corporate responsibility report, which said: “Since 2009, we have also been conducting meetings in a small group with representatives from the union association UNI Global Union and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to discuss issues of general interest to Deutsche Post DHL.“

The report also said that the company was this year planning to “continue discussions with UNI Global Union and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.”

Commending the company for its public acknowledgement of the global union federations’ dialogue with the company, ITF organising globally coordinator Ingo Marowsky said: “We appreciate this move because a global company needs global social partners. We see this statement as an important step towards a global framework agreement to ensure that the rights of DHL workers around the world are better protected than they currently are.”

During the meeting, head of UNI Global Union post and logistics Neil Anderson also raised concerns regarding union rights issues that were taking place at Deutsche Post DHL’s operations in Latin America and parts of Europe. He later commented: “Regional union representatives have revealed that, while there may be comparatively small problems on union rights in some DHL locations, there are significant problems in others.”