The holidays are always the busiest time of the year for delivery driver Patrick (32). Five times a week he races through Alkmaar with his delivery van to make people happy with packages, but ‘the profession does not get enough appreciation’. “If you see how many millions of profit PostNL has made and we basically get nothing, then I understand that everyone wants to strike.”
Deliveryman Patrick (32) hopes for an improvement of the current collective labor agreement – NH News
Early this morning, delivery driver Patrick Overwijn (32) is already busy at the PostNL Depot in Opmeer. The packages roll off the couch and stop right in front of his van. One by one he picks up the packages and puts them in order in his car.
“I’ve been doing this job for 15 years,” laughs the delivery driver from Alkmaar. “I really enjoy this work and I think it’s great to provide people with a smile at home. I love that I can make people happy by delivering the packages.”
Despite the great pleasure in his work, Patrick sees that things have been messy at PostNL for some time. During Black Friday, the staff wanted to go on strike because they demanded a better collective labor agreement, but that plan was thwarted because PostNL went to court. The judge ruled in favor of PostNL, allowing only 10 percent of the total staff to strike. In collaboration with trade union FNV, the employees then decided not to stop working.
FNV not satisfied
According to the FNV, new large-scale strikes are imminent. “The judge’s ruling means that the right to strike is at stake,” says FNV spokesman Casper Schrijver. As a result of the court’s ruling, the staff can exert less pressure on the employer.
During the corona period, PostNL generated a turnover of millions, but the employees are lagging behind in their wages”
“During the corona period, PostNL generated a turnover of millions, but the employees are lagging behind in their wages,” the spokesperson continues. “Of course we think that is very crooked for the staff, because they work their butt off. The judge is not allowed to strike until January 6, so until then the next major strike is off.”
Judge ruling
The judge has previously ruled that the FNV must comply with the preconditions that PostNL has set for the FNV actions. Those conditions are so strict that a nationwide strike on Black Friday has been made practically impossible.
To give an example: only 10% of the transport drivers and parcel sorters should be allowed to strike, or 30% of the parcel deliverers employed by PostNL. According to the FNV, a strike does not have the necessary impact.
The demands of FNV and PostNL’s offer are quite different. For example, FNV wants a minimum wage of 14 euros per hour, a wage increase of at least 10 percent for all scales, abolition of youth wages plus automatic price compensation. In the latter case, wages should rise in line with inflation.
Patrick hopes that it will not turn into a strike in the end. “It may just be that PostNL itself comes to an agreement because striking is the extreme.”
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