UNI Global Union: Hundreds Gather in Brussels to Protest Post Liberalisation

NYON, Switzerland and BRUSSELS, April 14, 2010 - Postal workers, union members, MEPs and concerned citizens will tell the
European Parliament in Brussels today to demand an end to post market
liberalisation.

The groups say the switch from publicly funded post systems to private
ownership routinely leads to unemployment, attacks on working conditions and
poorer service for customers.

UNI Global Union will host a demonstration at 2 pm at the European
Parliament to urge it to immediately put a moratorium on the implementation
of the 3rd postal directive, which would pave the way for the privatisation
of postal services across Europe.

"What we have been seeing in Germany and the Netherlands recently–
postal companies demanding lower wages and announcing big job cuts and the
courts ruling against negotiated safeguards — is the inevitable disastrous
conclusion of a failed liberalisation policy," said Neil Anderson, Head of
UNI Post & Logistics. "Our research shows liberalisation is a catalyst for
social dumping. The European Commission is blindly implementing a botched
strategy and ignoring the serious social consequences."

Joining UNI are unions and public interest group members who don't want
to see quality mail service disappear from Europe.

"Workers and concerned citizens have found common cause in this fight,"
said MEP Sabine Wils, from Germany's Die Linke party. "We don't want to pay
more for poorer service and we don't want our taxes going to corporations who
care more about profits than customer satisfaction."

A global study, carried out by UNI, shows that full liberalisation of the
postal market does not work. Service quality has deteriorated in liberalised
postal markets. Liberalisation also causes tremendous job losses, increases
precarious working conditions and leads to wage cuts.

The UNI study has been ignored by the European Commission, which failed
to meet the demands made by the European Parliament when they agreed to
postal market liberalisation.

You can find the study at:

www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/iportal.nsf/pages/20090211_6lcrEn

UNI Post & Logistics is the global union for the postal and logistics
industry, representing 157 unions and 2.5 million workers worldwide.

    Contact:
    Neil Anderson
    Mobile: +41-79-508-26-16

Contact: Neil Anderson, Mobile: +41-79-508-26-16