Germany: Deutsche Post unions fear creating a single distribution subsidiary will result in downgrading working conditions for postal delivery workers

An article in the daily publication Die Welt from 12 March reports that Deutsche Post (DP) was preparing a significant restructuring. The article indicated the German postal giant was in the process of creating a single distribution (letters and packages) entity that would encapsulate all DP postal delivery workers who come under the scope of the ‘house agreement’ as well as workers with DHL Delivery, its low-cost subsidiary established in 2015. Since DHL Delivery workers are paid in line with a separate remuneration protocol, trade unions immediately accused Deutsche Post of seeking to ultimately worsen direct DP workers’ working conditions and remuneration protocols. A Deutsche Post spokesperson vigorously denied this assuring Planet Labor that these fears were devoid of any basis, declining however to comment publicly on the company’s ‘internal organization issues’.
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Towards ‘further erosion of the house agreement’. Two and a half years ago, and in spite of a dispute of unprecedented magnitude seen in recent times, management at Deutsche Post succeeded in creating new low-cost packages distribution subsidiaries called DHL Delivery GmbH (c.f. article No. 9174). Currently the subsidiary network comprises 46 subsidiaries across the country with approximately 11,000 delivery workers, who deliver more than one million packages within Germany every day. These...

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