Wednesday, July 25, 2018

International Freight Group Agrees to Talks With Transport Unions

After Years of Acrimony Two Sides Sit at the Table
Shipping News Feature
TURKEY – GERMANY – It seems after an age of promises DHL may finally be taking some of the accusations against the Deutsche Post owned operation by international unions seriously. In January 2014, a host of international complaints regarding working practices led to an undertaking by the company to look at the problems. One of the bones of contention was workers' rights in Turkey and now, after losing a decision in Court, the two sides are to sit round the table.

In a joint statement by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and DHL the company has agreed to start negotiations on a collective labour agreement (CLA) with local union Tümtis. Following the first-instance Court decision confirming Tümtis has met the requirements for union recognition, both parties have met for first, informal talks over the last weeks.

In these talks, which were also attended by the ITF, Tümtis and DHL both expressed their willingness to enter into a trustful and sustainable relationship. Therefore, Tümtis has confirmed to DHL that it wants to be a reliable partner to DHL that is interested in fair negotiations. DHL decided not to make use of its right to appeal against the court decision but to start CLA negotiations with Tümtis as soon as Tümtis has received the formal authorisation by the government.