Panhellenia is watching with intense reflection and concern Federation Postal Unions (P.O.S.T.) the plans of the Shareholder and the Administration of the Hellenic Post Office (ELTA), speaking of a strategy that leads to the shrinking and restructuring of the company, without including real reform elements.
According to the Federation, the new plans are not an innovation, but a reissue of the reorganization plan that was presented by the Superfund to ELTA in 2018. What is surprising today, as the announcement states, is the “speed of implementation, the size and intensity of the changes” that are all being launched in the same direction: assigning work to private individuals and moving regular staff.
P.O.S.T. points out that the last quarter’s drop in revenues in letter mail and financial products due to digital substitution is not enough to justify these radical interventions. Today’s developments for the Federation are the result of decades of absence of a clear and comprehensive policy for ELTA, combined with delayed and inadequate compensation of the Universal Postal Service, which has led the public postal service to suffocation.
Special mention is made by P.O.S.T. in the disparities of state funding between ELTA and other companies that provide services of general economic interest. As he emphasizes, “while a foreign company is subsidized annually with 50 million euros to maintain a transport line, ELTA does not receive even a fraction of this amount”.
Corresponding compensations, according to the Federation, are received by the providers of the Universal Postal Service in France, Italy and Spain, with the approval of the European Commission. “In Greece, ELTA is required to offer nationwide coverage without the necessary financial support,” he notes characteristically.
Concern for the future of workers and services
The workers express fears that the plan will have multiple consequences, both for them and for the quality of services provided. P.O.S.T. declares that it is on the side of all postal workers, pointing out that its only aim is to protect the incomes and working rights of its members.
At the same time, the Federation calls on the workers to strictly observe the service procedures and to denounce any attempt to violate rights. “We have the experience and the means to react unionically and legally,” the statement says.
“Red lines” and a message to the Administration
“Our non-negotiable red lines are jobs, labor rights, wages and the avoidance of exterminating relocations of colleagues”, underlines P.O.S.T.
Although it acknowledges that it does not co-manage or participate in decision-making, the Federation declares its determination to resist any measure that threatens the viability of ELTA and the dignity of workers.
“We are unable to do more, but we are not willing to settle for anything less,” the message of the announcement concludes.