PostNL reports settlement with two unions on new collective bargaining agreement

PostNL has reached a collective agreement with trade unions BVPP and CNV. As a result, the more than 18,000 employees covered by the collective agreement, such as distribution center workers and truck drivers, will receive pay increases of up to 9.5 percent in several steps. The lowest pay grades will see the biggest increase. PostNL staff will also receive a one-time payment of 1.5 percent of their gross pay next month.

In addition, the travel allowance for commuting will be raised in two steps to 22 cents per kilometer, and the pension contribution paid by employees will not be increased until March 2024. Agreements have also been reached on early retirement and reduced working hours for older employees, and there will be special leave for people undergoing gender reassignment.

As recently as December, BVPP and CNV had taken action. This led to a new invitation from PostNL to negotiate, BVPP said. Members of the two trade unions have not yet commented on the agreement reached. However, PostNL expects them to vote for or against this agreement in two weeks at the latest.

The FNV was outraged because it was not invited to the collective bargaining. "This attempt to reach agreements without the largest union is another insult to our own employees," said FNV board member Mariska Exalto. "FNV was not invited to these talks and had to find out in a roundabout way what agreements were reached. It's a bizarre way to sideline your own employees. It just doesn't seem to sink in that this method of working ultimately causes more unrest than is desirable."

The union did not present the new final offer to its members because, according to the elected active members, the final offer was inadequate and was not negotiated with FNV. The union had previously walked away from the bargaining table but could not take action until this week due to a court ruling.