Calls for Stay on Eu Directive

The threat to maintaining the five days per week postal service collection and delivery service in Ireland was raised in the European Parliament when a moratorium on its implementation was called for, today, Thursday, September 9th.

Speaking on the Postal Services Directive, Independent MEP Marian Harkin said:- “In speaking on the Postal Services Directive, the Commissioner responsible told us that it gives leeway to Member States in its implementation.  This is to ensure that social requirements are fully respected.

“Yesterday in this Parliament, we voted through the employment guidelines and we called for ‘decent’ work, yet all over Europe ‘decent’ jobs in the Postal Service are being lost while precarious low paid jobs are taking their place and the liberalisation of Postal Services is driving this agenda.  There is real concern among citizens and among postal workers about the loss of jobs and we in this Parliament and you in the Commission cannot ignore that fact.  Also as a representative of a largely rural constituency I have received many queries about the obligation to ensure the collection and delivery of postal items five days per week and once again the commission has a real responsibility to ensure the Public Service Obligation is fully respected.

“Finally I agree with many of the other speakers, we need a moratorium on the implementation of this Directive and, in the meantime, a proper impact assessment of the consequences and in particular the social consequences of full market opening must be made”, Marian Harkin MEP concluded.