International

Following a proposal from the SP, the European Parliament is to hold an urgent debate the liberalisation of the post. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong is demanding that the Commission guarantee decent salaries for postal employees. "The damaging consequences of liberalisation of the post in the Netherlands include patently obvious competition around working conditions, mass redundancies and deteriorating service. The obligation imposed by the European Union to liberalise the postal market throughout Europe by 1st January 2011 must also be postponed so that the Commission can first look into the results of this. In addition, social rights for workers, such as a decent salary, must be guaranteed.”

The debate will take place at the first plenary after the summer recess, in Strasbourg in September. In order to back the debate up, the SP is calling on postal workers to demonstrate in Strasbourg while it is being held. The last demonstration, in Brussels in April, helped to pave the way for this debate, while in the Netherlands SP Member of Parliament Sharon Gesthuizen's proposal recently ensured that an end would be put to competition over working conditions in the Dutch postal sector.