Plans to impose a minimum wage on the German postal industry have collapsed after the rulingChristian Democrats and Social Democrats failed to agree on the issue. The dispute has escalated
conflicts within the government, and reportedly played an indirect role in yesterday’s resignationof vice-chancellor Franz Müntefering.It is now unclear whether a minimum postal wage will be agreed and implemented within thenext few months. The breakdown means that from January, when Deutsche Post loses its final domesticmonopoly, leading rivals TNT Post and PIN Group will be able to undercut Deutsche Post ratessignificantly due to their lower cost base.
Under strong pressure from the Social Democrats, unions and Deutsche Post, the coalitiongovernment had agreed to introduce a minimum wage in the postal sector that would have forcedprivate firms to increase their present low wages. A dispute then broke out over whether the EUR9.80 per hour wage negotiated between the Deutsche Post-dominated German Postal EmployersAssociation and the Verdi trade union covered a majority of postal sector employees, as minimumwage legislation requires. TNT CEO Peter Bakker reportedly wrote to German chancellor Angela Merkelwarning the Dutch group might review its investment in the German market if the minimum wagelegislation went through.
In coalition talks on Monday night, the Christian Democrats blocked the minimum postal wageplans on the existing basis, but offered a deal based on a minimum wage of EUR 8 per hour andcovering only firms whose main business was postal deliveries.
This was rejected by the Social Democrats whose vice-chancellor Franz Müntefering, the mainproponent of the minimum postal wage, accused the chancellor of “lobby politics”. Other SocialDemocrats accused Merkel of “breaking her word” on the issue. On Tuesday, Müntefering resigned forpersonal reasons, citing his wife’s severe illness, but German media reported that the postal issuehad also played a role in his decision.
In response, Deutsche Post yesterday criticised the failure to agree on a minimum postalwage, but said it was well prepared to compete in the liberalised market on price, products andcosts. Deutsche Post chairman Klaus Zuminwinkel already signalled at last week’s Q3 financialresults press conference that the group would be able to reduce its operating costs and competestrongly on price for business customers.
Verdi claimed German chancellor Angela Merkel wanted postal delivery workers with “hungerwages”. In contrast, Florian Gerster, president of the rival association representing privatepostal companies, welcomed the breakdown as a “victory for common sense”.
