The national post is considering hiring asylum-seekers as mail carriers as it finds the jobs more and more difficult to fill, but the unions point out that that won’t solve the problems with high turnover

Unions representing postal workers are concerned about a proposal by national post Bpost to bring in refugees to fill the vacancies for mail carriers. The jobs would go to those who have been accepted as asylum-seekers.

“Refugees are certainly welcome, but they have to have the right background,” said Jean-Pierre Nyns of the socialist union ACOD. “In the Brussels periphery we already get a lot of complaints from people that their mail carrier doesn’t speak Dutch. It’s a sensitive question.”

A Bpost spokesperson pointed out that the company has already filled many jobs with low-skilled workers. “We would have to approach this in the right way,” she said. “You can’t just hand over a letter bag to a refugee.”

Bpost is looking for at least 60 new mail carriers, mainly in the Flemish municipalities around Brussels. The company is already having trouble filling vacancies. because of improved economic conditions. Jobs are easier to fill during economic downturns, the spokesperson said.

“We’ve called on the help of municipalities to communicate vacancies in the belt around Brussels, the coastal region and Antwerp,” the spokesperson said. Advertisements will also be printed on 100,000 bread bags in the region.

“Recruiting mail carriers is only the first step,” Nyns said. “Bpost also has to make more effort to keep them. Turnover is huge because of work pressure, and the stress is only getting worse.”

Unions came out on strike for a day in June, and ACOD and the Christian union ACV have threatened more actions if their demands are not taken seriously. Both sides hope a new collective agreement can be reached in September.

Photo courtesy Bpost