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UNI's affiliate in Norway, Postkom reports that the government put jobs at risk by not keeping its promises to pay for postal services. According to the terms of service and quality levels of postal services, the Post Office is required to perform a number of unprofitable services. Six months ago the government issued a plan about the future of the PO saying that the bill must be paid. When money does not enter it means that the Post Office must streamline the operations further.

”It is incomprehensible that the government, which has been concerned about a good state ownership, violate its promise and put postal employee jobs at stake by failing to pay for them," said Postkom’s President Odd Christian Øverland angrily.

It seems to me that the government thinks it's okay to order services for hundreds of million of NOK, and let postal employees pay the bill. Postkom cannot accept that the government breaks its promises and puts further pressure on postal employees. We already work under pressure from the strong demands for efficiency, frequent restructuring, several rounds of major personnel reductions and closure of post offices across the country. Our members will not pay the bill this time, said Øverland, who estimates that the Post Office has an outstanding 400 million NOK bill from the state in the form of unprofitable postal service that the Post Office is required to perform.

"We in Postkom demand that the bill must be paid by the ordering entity and not those who perform the job. If the bill is not paid the government must accept that the Post Office will provide a significantly lower operating income than planned, "said Øverland.

”I am amazed that the government does not realise that this will also affect the Post Office’s abilities to implement the strategy of Nordic growth. In addition, this will reduce opportunities to invest in new and more environmentally friendly solutions, ended Øverland.