The Joint Declaration follows the completion of an EU-funded capacity building project of PostEurop, UNI Europa and CESI on ‘Postal Skills and Work Environment in the Digital Era’. The project, which was implemented as part of the European social dialogue on postal services, inquired into the links between digitalising work environments, evolving skills needs and subsequently required re-training measures for specific postal job profiles such as back-office operations, delivery operations and post-offices networks and was recently finalised with the publication of a study on the subject (French version / German version).

In the Joint Declaration, PostEurop, UNI Europa and CESI, as recognised European social partners for postal services, recognise the central importance of training and retraining of postal personnel to accompany evolving digitalisation in the sector, especially against the background of the Covid pandemic which has even speeded up and accelerated already existing digital transitions. They agree that training and re-training along the work careers of staff constitutes a joint effort and joint responsibility of the personnel (unions) and operators (employers), together as social partners in social dialogue.

On behalf of CESI, Manfred Wiedner, President of CESI’s statutory Expert Commission on Post and Telecoms and Chairman of the Austrian FCG-Post union, was present during the signing of the Joint Declaration during the social dialogue plenary meeting in Brussels.

The full text of the joint declaration can be accessed here.