Postal liberalisation moratorium urged by unions

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Hold up liberalisation of Europe’s postal services.
That was the call of demonstrators representing more than 150 trade unions from across Europe. They gathered in Strasbourg with several European Parliament members who say the sector is not yet ready for opening up. They are demanding a moratorium on further moves in that direction.

Said El Khadraoui is among those questioning whether the EU internal market authority is carrying out its role properly.

He said: “We want to pressure the European Commission to make sure that the directive is applied well, especially at a social level, because it’s clear that, in some countries, traditional postal workers, let’s say, are being replaced by independent workers with flimsy contracts, and that’s not the Europe we want.”

The protesters stressed that the Third Postal Directive defines good working conditions as a prerequisite for liberalisation.

Legal monopolies on the handling of letters under 50 grammes are to end in most EU states at the end of this year, removing competition barriers.

Unions fear it could mean 30 percent job losses.