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TNT workers in the Netherlands asked to participate in referendum



Workers at TNT in the Netherlands are being asked to take part in a referendum to decide on their future in the company.



Acknowledging the company’s financial problems, union representatives have said that workers are being forced to make a difficult choice – between keeping their jobs and taking a pay cut, or keeping their current salaries and risking losing their jobs. Members of the unions, ABVAKABO and FNV Bondgenoten, will be asked to make their views known in a referendum; the outcome will then be the subject of further negotiations with the company.



TNT plans to restructure the company, which would involve cutting 11,000 jobs over a period of one to three years. The company aims to save EUR125 million a year through a new collective bargaining agreement. The unions believe that TNT's restructuring proposals are too drastic and that cost-savings of EUR75 million a year should be sufficient resulting only in 3,500 compulsory redundancies.



"Regardless of the outcome of the referendum, it will be hard to reach an agreement," one of the union representatives, Sander Martins, said. He also wasn't ruling out strike action.



The the workers have a pretty stark choice!



The union advises that its members have to choose between:

1) 3 years no salary increase and a little employee-contribution for the TNT pension, with in return a guarantee that nobody will become unemployed,



and



2) no pay cut, instead a wage increase in 2009/2010 of 1,5% and a good social plan, but without the possibility of preventing mass redundancies.



The union makes the point that cost-savings of EUR75 million a year should be sufficient and should not result in 3,500 compulsory redundancies. If these redundancies go ahead they say that the cost savings to TNT are about 600 million a year, of which 125 million is savings on labour conditions. The unions are saying that in their opinion (and that of their researchers, Ecorys) depending on the results of the referendum, they will fight for less cost cutting and they definitely won't accept 3500 compulsory redundancies.