Brussels, 26/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The row over the minimum salary in the German postal sector between the Dutch private company TNT and the German historical operator Deutsche Post is about to take a European turn (see EUROPE 9568). TNT, which takes the view that the sole purpose of this minimum wage is to protect Deutsche Post on its national market, tabled an official complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday 26 March, giving the institution the means to intervene with the German authorities.
“Today we will be filing a complaint with the European Commission”, confirmed Pieter Schaffels, who is in charge of media relations for TNT. This complaint relates only to the creation of a minimum hourly range set at between €8 and €9.8 for all German postal workers from 1 January 2008, the date on which the German postal market was fully liberalised. Stressing that it is not opposed to the principle of a minimum wage, the Dutch company criticises the fact that as an actor on the market, it did not take part in the negotiations which led to a agreement which is valid for the whole of the sector and which was negotiated solely between Deutsche Post and the German union, Verdi. The hourly rate applied in Germany is “artificially high” and keeping it in place would oblige TNT to reconsider its position on the German market, says Nanno Aukes, the director of public relations for the Dutch company, adding: “if these protectionist measures succeed, the entire process of liberalisation is in danger. It would only be a cosmetic liberalisation”. TNT applies an hourly rate of €7.5. In return for the situation on the German market, the Netherlands has decided to freeze the total liberalisation of their national postal market, which was initially planned for the beginning of 2008.
Speaking in support of the initiative by the Dutch postal company, Corien Wortmann-Kool (EPP-ED, Netherlands) described it as “politically unacceptable” for Germany to adopt a measure which jeopardises the creation of fair game rules in the postal sector. She added that the letter sent to the member states last week by Charlie McCreevy is “unusually clear”: the European commissioner in charge of the single market has unequivocally shown his commitment to the definitive liberalisation of the postal sector. The MEP welcomed the fact that the Commission has not waited until 2008, the deadline for the transposition of the final postal directive, to take action.
Setting a minimum salary is a matter of national competence. What can the Commission do? We have drafted our complaint in such a way as to allow the Commission to take “swift action”, said Boudewijn Wentink, the head of legal affairs for TNT. The first thing that the Commission will be able to do is to call on the German authorities to justify their actions in this matter. Whilst referring to the provisions of the European Treaty on competition and the single market, the complaint is based on case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, Mr Wentink explained: the “Albany” ruling (case C-67/96) stipulates that the Commission is not competent in the field of national collective agreements, unless the measures adopted may be used to serve a different purpose, such as the restriction of competition. TNT takes the view that the Commission should have a say in its row with Deutsche Post, as the German minimum wage, in the guise of a social measure, aims to increase the costs of the competitors of the German historical operator and to protect it against efforts to fully liberalise the postal sector.
In early March, the Administrative Tribunal of Berlin ruled on the illegality of the order instituting a minimum salary in the German postal sector. It also takes the view that the situation for the competitors of Deutsche Post was not sufficiently taken into account. The German government immediately appealed this decision. The appeal judgment is likely to be returned in the summer. (M.B.)