Bpost is still trying to clear a backlog of more than 16 million letters and about 700,000 parcels that accumulated during the weeks-long strike over plans to adjust working hours for staff. “We’re doing everything we can to clear these backlogs with extra staff,” Bpost spokesperson Mathieu Goedefroy said, mentioning a timeframe of about two weeks. The Belgian postal company wants to have workers start their shifts later and extend their working hours into the evening, which unions said would disrupt work-life balance. Bpost also
wants “flexible” shifts, meaning workers would be told to start at a certain time on one day and then perhaps a different time on another day, with little notice. The company justified the reforms by the need to “adapt to the new reality of the parcel delivery market”. These changes would come into effect as early as this summer. In response, workers went on strike six weeks ago and blocked distribution centres, particularly in Brussels and Wallonia. At the height of the dispute, 10 million
letters and hundreds of thousands of parcels could not be delivered. Discussions between the unions, management and mediators bore little fruit over the weeks and Goedefroy said “the negotiations are over”. “The outcome of the negotiations is now with the trade union members for consultation with their rank and file,” Goedefroy said. But French-speaking socialist trade union CGSP Poste is not optimistic. “After a historic strike, we had undoubtedly expected something more ambitious,” said general secretary Thierry Tasset. “It is a missed opportunity.”
Bpost, strike, backlog, letters, parcels, working hours, unions, CGSP Poste, Brussels, Wallonia