News

Deutsche Post DHL refuses to open dialogue with the Belgian trade unions while restructuring the company’s European Express Headquarters based in Brussels

Over 200 jobs are at stake, employees are deprived of the right to benefit from a negotiated social plan

At the beginning of June 2009, Deutsche Post DHL announced a more than 50% job-cut within its European Express headquarters.

The Belgian trade unions FGTB, CSC and ACLVB – after putting pressure on the company’s management – succeeded in assisting employees at the aforementioned company site. Within days, the unions gained more than enough members (over 25%), thus acquiring the right to assist and represent them during the negotiation of a social plan for those employees whose career with Deutsche Post DHL will soon be terminated.

Up until present, the management of Deutsche Post DHL has blocked any dialogue with the Belgian trade unions, invoking reasons that they refuse or ignore to justify, despite the repeated formal requests by the trade unions and the European and global industry federations – ITF, UNI Global Union, ETF and UNI Europa.

Over the last few weeks, even though DHL refused to properly answer the most relevant question of the staff, the attitude of the company leads to believe that it has prepared this “coup” months in advance. Today the company tries to “cash in” on the fact that a large part of the workforce was not familiar with Belgian labour law. Contracts were changed to create the illusion DHL should not even respect legal standards for individual dismissals during this massive collective lay-off.

To us, this is a clear indication that the company wants to complete the restructuring process as quickly as possible, in order to avoid finding any solutions to the proposed redundancy plans and to avoid negotiations on a social plan that would give better benefits to the dismissed employees.

Having in view the above situation, the Belgian trade unions, UNI Europa and the ETF will organise a press conference in order to bring visibility to this case. The press conference will be held at “Grasslands and pic-nic place” (opposite DHL Worldwide), De Kleetlaan 1; 1831 Machelen (Diegem), on 14 July 2009, at 12h00.