The unions fired shots at the Director of the Cyprus Post for the employment status of the couriers and their working conditions, before the Transport Committee of the Parliament, which today examined the understaffing observed in the service, the wage inequalities and the consequences on its proper functioning and service.
DIKO MP, Panikos Leonidou, one of the rapporteurs of the issue, said that there is a mess in the postal sector and a group of employees is affected by the "bizarre decisions of the director". At the same time, he touched on the different speeds of workers, hourly wages, indefinite periods, permanent and service purchases. Specifically, according to the data presented by the Ministry of Finance, there are 96 positions of civil servant distributors in the Post Office, with 81 being filled, 165 distributors of indefinite duration and 38 hourly wages.
Marinos Kortas, on behalf of the Department of Postal Services, said that from 2015 until today, the volume of traditional mail (letters) has recorded a decrease of 50%. Therefore, the Department decided to recount the distributions, based on European standards, in order to better manage the staff. However, he added that the union requested, before measurements, that talks be held so that collective decisions can be made on the reductions. Mr. Kortas clarified that the negotiations took place and a proposal was given by the Director to the union.
He also clarified that the routes may be reduced, however the Department has the ability neither to fire nor to make redundant distributors. Therefore, the additional staff will either be absorbed into other activities, or will be transferred to another sector in the public sector.
For his part, Petros Savvides from the Pancyprian Trade Union of Civil Servants (PASYDY), confirmed that the Director sent a proposal for the restructuring of the distribution network and invited the union to a dialogue on Monday, October 12. In his proposal, as he said, he sets the distributions at 137 in the existing urban areas. "A year ago the distributions were at 199 and 8 months ago it reduced them again to 181. He is constantly changing the instructions to the staff," he claimed. Mr. Savvides also blamed the fact of the lack of replacements, stating that in Limassol there is a deficit of three people.
Antonis Panayi, from Equality, said that the Director never accepted the guild in his office. He referred to wage inequalities and the increasing workload, noting that at the end of the day "it is the citizen who pays for it" who is forced to go and pick up his parcel from the post office, instead of taking the parcel home. He demanded, among other things, overtime pay, safe equipment for postmen and working hours that protect the employee from the weather conditions.
In fact, Mr. Panayi presented photos to the Committee, which demonstrate the volume of mail that couriers are required to carry daily and the risk they run because of this. As he mentioned, in one case the postman's bag caught fire while he was on the move.
In the meantime, a postal courier in Limassol expressed a cry of despair before the Committee, who spoke of daily pressure that most people cannot stand, and constant data change without dialogue. He pointed out, in fact, the fact that 1/3 of the staff undertakes light duties, due to age and health problems.
In conclusion, the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Transport, Sotiris Ioannou, stated that the issue will be raised again before the MPs at the beginning of November, where the Director of the Cyprus Post and a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Transport will also be invited to attend.
