Six unions at La Poste have called a national strike on September 23 in protest at plans torestructure the French postal operator into a limited company and then part-privatise it, possibly
in January 2011.The unions (CGT, FO, CFDT, PTT-Sud and CGC) said that they would organise demonstrationsacross France that day against La Poste’s plans to seek financing for expansion plans via a capitalincrease on the financial markets. They also called for a national debate on the future of thestate-owned postal organisation and announced they would collect public signatures against thepart-privatisation plan.
The aim was to block the restructuring project and “maintain the missions of a modern andrenovated public postal service, of developing the working environment and improving guarantees forstaff”, the unions said in a joint statement. Further protests would be decided following theSeptember 23 action.
La Poste last week unveiled plans to restructure into a limited company in 2010 and to floata minority holding on the stock exchange in 2011 in order to raise €2.5 – €3.5 billion for growth,including acquisitions. French media have referred to a possible IPO involving a 10-20% stake.
But La Poste underlined that its public service commitments would be maintained, there wouldbe no changes to employee status, and it would remain a public company majority owned by the state.
