The unions and management of Bpost have reached a draft agreement to end the social unrest at the postal company. The unions will present the draft agreement to their members this evening.
In Wallonia and Brussels, a labour dispute has been going on at Bpost for more than a week. Staff are unhappy about a reorganisation of the postal rounds. A strike has been ongoing, and even sorting centres were blocked for a while. Hundreds of thousands of parcels got stuck as a result.
The unions and Bpost's management met again on Wednesday. The management has formulated a new proposal and speaks "of constructive consultation." The socialist postal workers' union also acknowledged that progress has been made.
The proposal will be presented to the staff on Wednesday at 18:00. Until the members have seen the draft, neither the unions nor the management will disclose details about the agreement.
A previous management proposal was rejected by the members. "After having been on strike for so long, I fear the reaction on the ground a little," said Thierry Tasset of the French-speaking socialist public sector union.
Geert Cools of the socialist union ACOD said that the negotiations took very long, but added that the unions as well as Bpost worked hard.
"It is an agreement that our French-speaking colleagues can take to their members. I hope in any case that it will be received positively. There are certainly elements in the draft agreement that make the rounds more feasible," said Cools.
