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TNT and Unions agree a deal

TNT and the unions FNV ABVAKABO and CNV said they had resolved disputes over job cuts which would stop a Christmas postal strike that was scheduled to start next week. TNT and the union said that it had reached an agreement in principle with the unions regarding job cuts as a result of the impending reorganization, and that the unions will present the deal to their employees with a recommendation for acceptance, and won't undertake further industrial action.



TNT's postal workers have carried out seven days of strikes over the past month, but were planning a four-day strike the week before Christmas. Union representatives said that the unions will discuss the terms of the resolution with their members in January and at the end of the month they will vote on the agreement.



Thursday TNT said it agreed with union leaders to restrict jobs cut through voluntary redundancies and attrition to 2,800 instead of 4,500. It said it will look at options to save the jobs of a further 200 drivers, will offer 300 employees temporary contracts through 2013 and help axed workers to find employment elsewhere. Restructuring the mail unit is part of a wider reorganisation of TNT, which announced April it would separate the mail and express units. TNT is reorganising its mail business to offset volume declines. Volumes are falling as a result of the liberalisation of the Dutch postal market in 2009. The pressure from competition comes on top of a decline in mail volumes as a result of ongoing digitization and electronic mail.