Netherlands: the liberalization of the postal market postponed again while the social conflict at TNT is getting worse

On May 16, the government has once again postponed the liberalization of the postal market, first planned for January 1, 2008, and then to July 1, 2008. Now, Frank Heemskerk, Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, refuses to give a set date, but he denied wanting to postpone the liberalization until January 1, 2011, the deadline set by the European Commission. This decision arrives in a context of social arm-wrestling at the main Dutch postal group, TNT. (Ref. 080418)
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The government justifies this delay by the fact that “the ground is not even” at the European level. TNT, the former national postal company in the Netherlands, complains about the different VAT systems in force in Great Britain and Germany between former national posts and their new competitors. In addition, the Dutch multinational company objects to the agreement reached between the Deutsche Post and trade unions on minimum wage, and it sees it as an obstruction to competition.

Threat of unlim

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