UNI P&L WORLD MEETING HELD IN NYON

More than 70 UNI Post & Logistics activists meet to discuss challenges and work ahead in the sector.

Last week more than 70 post and logistics union activists convened in Nyon for the 2012 UNI Post and Logistics Global Union World Meeting. Coming from all corners of the globe and all four of UNI's regions, the participants met to discuss the challenges facing the world's post and logistics workers and the role for UNI and their unions in improving the outlook for the sector.

One the first day of the meeting, participants focused the discussion on the future of the industry. With a world-wide trend of rapidly declining letter mail volumes, many postal operators face significant financial challenges and workers are feeling the pinch. After presentations by guests from the Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne and Swiss Post - recognized as a global leader in innovative postal technology - participants debated how unions can help shape the discussion on the future of postal services.

Also on day one, the unions discussed UNI's role with the Universal Postal Union and its regional restricted unions. Pascal Clivaz, the UPU's Director of Finance and Strategy, presented on the upcoming Doha Congress and the UPU's goals for the next cycle. Affiliates discussed UNI's role as a member of the UPU's Consultative Committee and talked about the importance of UNI's cooperative memoranda of understanding with the restricted unions.

On the second day of the meeting, participants set their aim at the challenge of organizing more workers in the sector into unions. Either in new postal operators in liberalized markets or in the growing courier-express-parcel segments of the industry, unions recognized the need to grow their membership base and gain power for these unorganized workers. The discussion focused on the obstacles to organizing and how to overcome them.

The final main theme of the meeting was dealing with liberalization and regulatory issues. On this topic, participants heard a number of best practices from around the world - including legally-mandated sectoral minimum conditions, ways to expand the universal service obligation, and ways to prevent trade agreements from undermining existing standards in the sector.

Throughout the meeting, participants reviewed their progress on the goals set forth at the last World Conference in Washington last September and updated the working plan for the year ahead.