April 24, 2024
Today at
6:40 PM
A possible solution is in the works for the social conflict at Bpost in French-speaking Belgium. That solution does put publishers on the spot.
The extensive industrial action by the French-speaking unions CSC (Christian) and CGSP (socialist) at the listed postal company Bpost
were on their third day on Wednesday. They are starting to hurt Bpost, resulting in the loss of customers. The staff is concerned about the future of the Belgian activities.
The essence
- A compromise seems to be emerging for the social conflict at Bpost in French-speaking Belgium.
- This means that Bpost does not transfer the distribution of newspapers to AMP. In return, the unions want to talk about efficiency gains.
- If that compromise is successful, the main question is whether a more expensive newspaper distribution is acceptable to French-speaking publishers.
The impact of the loss of the newspaper distribution contract with the government in particular is causing unrest. The publishers largely want to continue to work with Bpost, but on the condition that the distribution gradually migrates to the cheaper Bpost subsidiary AMP. However, CSC and CGSP repeatedly vetoed the AMP scenario, including on Wednesday. “If it becomes AMP, we will stop distributing newspapers,” said a union source.
Compromise
Management and unions met for the second day in a row on Wednesday. During the meeting, a compromise was in the works, according to several sources. This means that Bpost leaves the AMP scenario for French-speaking Belgium and that CSC and CGSP agree to discussions about implementing efficiency gains.
That possible compromise is now being translated into texts that will be presented during a new meeting with all unions on Thursday. In the meantime, CSC and CGSP are consulting their supporters to see if the militants on the ground are willing to bury the hatchet. “This is major progress,” said the French-speaking unions.
Publishers
The only question is whether French-speaking publishers – for Flanders the AMP scenario seems to remain intact for the time being – can live with the new evolution. This threatens to saddle them with higher costs, while developing an alternative is difficult to achieve, especially in the short term. The current distribution contract with the federal government expires at the end of June. The question is what to do next if they say no.
We don’t want a two-speed business.
Geert Cools
General Secretary ACOD Post
In that case, a social plan at Bpost is not excluded. Then the ball threatens to end up back in the company’s court. ‘We want to avoid a social plan. If a plan were to be discussed, it would be for the entire country. We don’t want a two-speed company,” says Geert Cools, general secretary of ACOD Post.
‘Not knocked off’
About Wednesday’s meeting, Cools only wanted to say that ‘a number of matters still need to be finalized. Until that has happened, there will be no agreement.’ His colleague Annick Boon from ACV Transcom prefers to wait for the texts before making more comments.
Bpost spokeswoman Veerle Van Mierlo first said on Wednesday that no decisions were made during the consultation and that a new meeting will follow on Thursday. Later in the day, the company issued a statement. In it, Bpost confirms that it proposed ‘a phased transfer of newspaper volumes to its subsidiary AMP after July 1’ as a solution for newspaper distribution.
‘This route was developed to avoid a redundancy plan at Bpost through a gradual transfer of volumes to an organizational model with lower costs. This solution allows to avoid a social shock and also meets the needs of newspaper publishers. Bpost notes that the French-speaking unions resolutely reject this solution. A new meeting with the social partners will take place on Thursday (tomorrow),’ the company concludes.
