24% of La Poste agents, out of a total workforce of 220, went on strike this Wednesday morning at the call of the CGT-May Poste and Sud PTT. They are demanding a bonus of 500 euros per agent to compensate for the distribution of electoral envelopes in view of the legislative elections, but above all the bonus to compensate for the high cost of living already in place for years in the other overseas departments, except Mayotte. . “La Poste agents from other overseas departments have benefited from this bonus since 2009, but here as usual we are not entitled to it even though life is more expensive than in Reunion,” criticizes Anli Saïd, the Secretary. Departmental of the CGT-May Poste, supported by his colleague from Sud-PTT. After years of trying to obtain what they consider “their due” through negotiations, the unions called for this indefinite strike, believing that it was “their last resort to assert their rights” following the failure of the latest negotiations with the management of La Poste which took place this Tuesday, June 25 in the evening.
The problem of bonuses is far from being their only demand. They also demand a reorganization of the distribution of mail and parcels in order to adapt it to the actual quantity arriving in the territory, as well as an improvement in working conditions. “Air conditioning in offices regularly breaks down and is never repaired, the same goes for mail delivery vehicles. We can no longer continue to work in these conditions! », exclaims Anli Saïd, determined to continue the strike until a solution is found. Finally, last but not least, La Poste agents who have retired for 2 years have still not received a single cent of their retirement pension. “There is always a piece of paper missing from the files, they are systematically sent back to us and these back and forths take a lot of time. In the meantime, the agents are not paid. Some are forced to sell their animals to be able to survive,” explains the trade unionist.
Only La Poste headquarters in Paris has the power to act
For pensions, certain solutions were found before the strike, such as not letting a retired agent leave until his file is complete or accepting the return to work of certain retired agents who cannot survive without their pension. of retirement. The Mayotte civil servants’ pension fund having been dissolved, everything is now managed at a national level, which poses many problems. On this issue, negotiations can no longer be done with the overseas management of La Poste, which has no control over these issues, but must go through La Poste headquarters in Paris. The regional management is therefore responsible for making the connection, but the strikers affirm that as long as contact is not established, the strike will continue indefinitely.
This Wednesday morning, around 70 strikers gathered at 6 a.m. in front of the Kaweni sorting center and marched in a procession to the management located opposite EDM to return to hold a strike picket until noon. Tomorrow Thursday, they will repeat the operation until a meeting is held with those responsible for the headquarters, the only people who can respond to their demands. For its part, the management of the Post Office informed us, via a press release, that it had put in place measures to ensure continuity of service and that 75% of distribution rounds could be carried out normally. Furthermore, 11 out of 14 post offices were open and able to welcome customers. Unlike the unions, management believes that “the negotiations on Tuesday evening took place in a constructive climate” and that “management had made a certain number of proposals”. She affirms that she wishes to “find a rapid solution to this conflict” by “continuing the constructive and quality dialogue started with its social partners”.
N.G
