Service Sector Employers Palta and the Finnish Post and Logistics Union PAU have continued their negotiations on the collective agreement of Posti employees today, October 17, 2019. Palta questions the allegations made by the Finnish Post and Logistics Union PAU about weakening terms of employment.
“We are certainly not seeking to weaken terms of employment but trying to find a solution that takes into account the major changes in the industry’s operating environment and ensures work for Posti’s employees also in the future,” says Tuomas Aarto, Director General at Palta.
“As we have communicated previously, Palta’s objective in the ongoing negotiations is to replace the current collective agreement terms, where applicable, with the terms of the Collective Agreement Concerning Delivery Personnel in such a way that the current salaries of affected employees will not be cut during the next agreement period. In today`s negotiations we further specified that the compensation level provided by evening and night shift allowances will remain at the current level during the next agreement period,” Aarto continues.
There are currently two collective agreements in use in the delivery sector. Posti is the only company in mail delivery to use the collective agreement with PAU, whereas all other delivery companies use the Collective Agreement Concerning Delivery Personnel negotiated with the Industrial Union.
“During my long labor market career, I have never witnessed an industry transformation as rapid and massive as the one Posti is now going through. The situation is extremely difficult.”
According to statistics, paper mail volumes decline in Finland faster than anywhere else in Europe: 14 out of every 100 letters are eliminated every year. Posti is unable to change this trend and needs to adapt to the changing environment.
The parties involved in negotiations will meet next time next week. The date of the meeting will be decided later on.
The negotiations between Palta and PAU apply to approximately 10,000 employees, most of whom work in mail delivery. The current collective agreement expires at the end of October.
