European postal workers are being encouraged to demonstrate in Strasbourg, on 8 September, to demand “a halt to liberalisation of the postal services market”. The same day, certain MEPs will push for a moratorium on the directive that provides for total liberalisation of this market by the end of 2011. The Postal Services Directive opens up ordinary services (letters of under 50 grammes) to competition at the start of 2011 in a majority of EU states and two years later in the remaining member states.

UNI Global Union, a worldwide body representing 2.5 million workers and 157 unions in the postal and logistics sector, is mobilising workers to support an initiative by several MEPs, who plan to call for a moratorium on this directive at the plenary session, on 8 September. “The demonstrators will stress that the switch to private postal services will lead to unemployment, poor working conditions and a decline in services to users,” notes a statement by the union.

A majority of operators that still have a monopoly on letters of 50 g or less “will not be ready,” adds French trade unionist Bernard Gringeau (FO).