PostNL and trade unions BVPP, CNV and FNV have reached final agreement for a new PostNL collective labour agreement (CLA) and a CLA for Saturday deliverers. The new collective labor agreements, on which agreements-in-principle were reached on 18 November, were signed by parties today. It was agreed that wages will increase by 5.5% in two years. Furthermore, a non-recurring payment of 0.5% will be paid. The PostNL CLA also includes agreements on sustainable employment, hiring of more parcel deliverers and an allowance for home workers. The CLA parties also agreed to combat competition on terms and conditions of employment in the parcels sector.
The final agreements include a structural salary increase of a total of 5.5% over two years, a performance-related bonus of 2% over 2020 and a non-recurring payment of 0.5% in December 2020. This is on top of the previously announced extra net payment of €250 in appreciation for working during the Covid-19 crisis. People in office-based roles will get a home working allowance of €45 net per month.
Currently, 80% of PostNL parcel delivery workers have an employment contract and work for PostNL or for a third party. In order to ensure a level playing field and to prevent competition on terms of employment, the CLA parties will strive to make this - 80% of the deliverers working under a collective labour agreement - the standard for the entire parcels sector. In that context, the CLA parties also intend to make agreements for the reduction of heavy parcels (> 23 kg) in the sector and improve work conditions for delivery workers.
With approximately 40,000 employees, PostNL is one of the largest employers in The Netherlands. The CLA for PostNL applies to approximately 18,000 PostNL employees. The CLA for Saturday deliverers applies to over 300 employees in total. Postal deliverers have a separate CLA.