The Liberalisation of European Postal Markets and the Impact on Employment and Working Conditions

The following report, launched by Forba, is an update and extension of an earlier study carried out as part of the European-Commission-funded research project‚ ‘Privatisation of Public Services and Impacts on Quality, Employment and Productivity’ (PIQUE).
The report starts with a brief summary of the liberalisation process, followed by an analysis of company responses and the various business strategies adopted in the liberalised European postal markets. It then presents an analysis of the changes in employment numbers. This is followed by an analysis of the consequences of liberalisation for forms of employment, wages and working conditions. The report ends with a discussion of the challenges for collective bargaining and brief conclusion.