Holland facing more postal strikes

RNW

Workers at Dutch postal company TNT are staging a national strike for two days starting Thursday morning.

This comes after approximately 8000 postal workers rallied in The Hague last week to protest TNT plans to retrench 3100 staff.

Although there is no plan for a rally this time, some 500 postmen are meeting to follow the current debate in the Lower House about the effects of last year’s liberalisation of the Dutch postal market. A petition urging the cabinet to intervene and protect TNT employees will be handed to Social Affairs Minister, Henk Camp, just before the debate.

TNT wants to restructure in order to cut costs and compete more effectively. The radical plan will see significant downsizing as jobs are cut and outsourced to cheaper competition. Labour union spokeswoman Annemariede Mooij warned that strikes will continue “if management does not give heed to our demands”. TNT maintain that the cuts are essential, but say they´re open to any creative ideas for alternative plans.