Strike Action before Christmas, the postal workers denounce their working conditions and the use of outsourcing …
“This is an indefinite strike. We demand decent working conditions.” A dozen postmen at Fléac, near Angoulême, in the Charente region, began a strike yesterday at dawn. All are working to “package” the unique service disrupted by this social movement which therefore affects only the Grand Angoulême.
These factors are facing an explosion of traffic at the approach of the holiday season. They and the figures given by La Poste, the volume of activity could increase by 200% during this period. The strikers denounce their working conditions and the use of private contracting, rather than hiring.
Facing the picket line at the entrance of the site, postal workers evoke endless touring and infernal rates. Up to 160 packages per tour, or even more, they said. ” And we do not just drive. We have to do the apartments and we get to the bottom of the gardens, ” explains Aurélie Dupont, employed for 16 years.
The factors of the service “packages” work six days a week, Monday to Saturday. They thus describe a typical day: they start at 6am and begin by sorting the packages. ” Some packages may reach 23 kg ,” says Aurélie Dupont. Around 8 am, they begin their respective tour. ” And we do it until they are all delivered”, says Stéphane Commin, 16 years old. We should all finish around noon. In fact, they argue, these tours would extend well beyond 1pm, and up to 5pm during activity peaks. ” We are exhausted, mentally and physically. Fatigue is there , “they shout.
“A business choice”
The direction of the postal group says his side take into account the needs of its services. To counter the increased workload, reinforcements would be so affected by internal and overtime paid and promoted. The Post also uses a subcontractor for two tours on Grand Angoulême and recognize here a “stumbling block” with the strikers. ” We have no desire to outsource. But it is inevitable, there is an extra measure , “says Eric Tailliez, the regional deputy director of “couriers and parcel” of La Poste.
He said that “nothing would be taboo”. The postal group would be “open to dialogue, ready to discuss terms” with the strikers. However, warns Eric Tailliez, “the withdrawal of subcontracting is not possible. It’s a business choice. A contract was signed (with a subcontractor). “The CGT denounces from its side the lack of attention and resources deployed by the Post Office. “She has sought the subcontracting imposed the adjustment variable personal. They do not want to hire“, says Véronique judge Lavergne, the general secretary of the postal section of the CGT in the Charente.
Postal workers plan to continue their strike today, and beyond. A meeting with management should take place in the morning. Purpose of the Post: “Ensuring the safety of (its) factors and the satisfaction of (his) clients.”
National strike in December
The unions CGT-FAPT, UNSA and SUD-PTT of La Poste call for a national strike day on Thursday, 8th December. They denounce a decline in working conditions and call for a suspension of restructuring carried out by the postal group. Negotiations with management began on the 26th October after media coverage of cases of suffering at work, including suicide. The three unions denounce “urgent understaffing” and “bad work conditions at work”. Mail volumes have declined by 30% between 2008 and 2015. According to the CGT-FAPT, and 100,000 jobs have been eliminated over the past decade by La Poste.
