PostNL has reached a new collective labour agreement and has announced a rates increase for next January.
The Dutch postal operator said on Friday that it has reached agreements in principle with the trade unions Bond van Post Personeel (BVPP), CNV Publieke Diensten and VHP2 regarding the PostNL collective labour agreement (CLA) and the CLA for Saturday deliverers.
The parties agreed on salary increases of in total 2.6%, to be implemented in 5 steps in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, they agreed on a generation pact and employment opportunities.
The new PostNL CLA will apply from 1 April 2017 to and including 31 December 2018. In addition to the salary increase of 2.6% in total, it has been agreed that every full time employee will be paid a one-time compensation of €50 net in December 2017. Part time employees will receive a minimum of €25 net.
It has also been agreed to further stimulate mobility within PostNL. The new generation pact enables a group of older employees to continue working: they can choose to continue working 60% of their contract, receive 80% of their wages and build up 80% of their pension.
For Saturday deliverers the same duration and salary increase have been agreed. The CLA for PostNL applies to almost all of the PostNL employees in Parcels, Mail in the Netherlands and Head Office. Postal deliverers have a separate CLA.
In the next step, the BVPP, CNV Publieke Diensten and VHP2 will positively submit both agreements in principle to their members for approval. The outcome of this consultation is expected to follow in November. Trade union FNV Publiek Belang has not signed the agreements in principle, but will submit them to its executive members.
Separately, PostNL will increase its rates for sending letters in the Netherlands and internationally as from 1 January 2018. The new standard rate for domestic letters is €0.83. The new rate for using a franking machine is €0.77. The new standard rate for international letters is €1.40.
Each year, the Dutch supervisory authority for the postal market, the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM) determines the tariff headroom for the universal postal service. The ACM has verified that the new rates comply with the statutory tariff headroom.
PostNL explained that as a result of the ongoing switch to digital means of communication, postal volumes continue to decline year on year. In 2016 volumes declined by another 8%. PostNL compensates this volume decline to a large extent with cost savings. However, rate increases are also required to offer reliable and accessible postal services in the Netherlands in the future.
However, there are different prices for special ‘Christmas stamps’. The price of the special postage stamp for Christmas holiday’s greetings is 5 euro cents lower than a normal stamp. The special December stamps, in sheets of 20 stamps, will become available as from 20 November 2017. The price of one December stamp is €0.73.
