On Thursday, 4 July 2019 has not been on the day of departure on vacation, but on the contrary, that of the resumption of work for the postmen, Hauts-de-Seine. They had been on strike since march 2018. The social movement had been launched following the dismissal of Gaël Quirante, a trade union delegate SUD-PTT in the department, a decision validated by the ministry of labour, for a case of sequestration of a part of the company dating back to 2010.
The dismissal of a trade union representative, considered to be “discriminatory” and demonstrative of “class violence”, according to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was just to add to the project restructuring large-scale Position in France. This restructuring consists in the lengthening of working hours and include tours of the factors, increasing to two per day with a midday break, the pace is very different from the one known up to then by the factors. Xavier Chiarelli, a member of the collective of the strike, explained to the Figaro that The Post office has “put in place a mechanism operating by imposing standards and calculation tasks based on algorithms to be biased, in a mere financial”.
“The Post office has put in place a mechanism operating in a mere financial”
A way out of the conflict has been finally signed by the Post office and The unions, after months without work or touch pay. A case of solidarity had been established to come to their aid and got 114.000 euros in total, “one of the largest ever harvested” according to the union. “The restructuring of the postal service of the Hauts-de-Seine has been pushed back to 2020 and 2021” explains Xavier Chiarelli. A victory for the postal workers on strike who were able to use the action to avoid the restructuring, though they have been as 5% (depending on The Position) to 20% (according to unions) to participate in the movement in its entirety. Gaël Quirante has indicated to the AFP that the strikers would “resume their work the head high”.
SOUTH also harvested this year 52% of the votes in the elections professionals with a participation of 86% of Postal employees in the department. A strong mobilization in the face of a possible “collapse of the framework of the trade factor”. Another consequence parallel to the signing of this agreement between the Postal service and its employees, Gaël Quirante, was able to participate in the strike action even though he was no longer part of the employees of the company, a first in the trade union world.
This long strike has been correlated with other mobilizations this year, including Perpignan, Montauban or Roubaix. Those denounced for the most part a global movement of restructuring and change in management of The Post office, some strikers, going as far as to equate the scandal of France Telecom in 2009. Indeed, The Post office has announced replacing only starting on 3, and rethink the system of sorting for “gain in productivity”, in the face of a mail traffic down 6% each year. The management has, however, announced that it was recruiting 70 new factors in CDI in 2019 in the department.
