FNV, the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation has accused Tempo Team, which is part of the Randstad Group, of evading Collective Labour Agreement rules for workers at mail company PostNL. FNV is also threatening legal action.

According to Flexnieuws, the FNV stated that thousands of parcel sorters who work the night shift at nine locations should be entitled to wage debts for their work at PostNL with damages potentially amounting to €8 million.

Tempo Team uses contractors and supplies the managers and settles payment for the number of sorted packages, not for the number of hours worked.

Trouw reports that because of its use of contracting, Tempo Team is not attached to the temporary employment agreement, because contracting does not apply as temporary work according to the law. The temporary employment agreement stipulates that temporary agency workers must receive the same wages as the permanent employees of the company where they start working. 

Those who work with PostNL via Tempo Team earn less than permanent employees.

Both PostNL and TempoTeam stated that the contracting method is meant to make it easier for the client, rather than saving on costs. They argue that contracting was discussed during the collective bargaining agreement, but that the FNV did not want to talk about it. They added that the sorters would not get a minimum wage.

Masja Zwart of the FNV told Trouw that after speaking to more than a hundred sorters, she found that PostNL does indeed supervise work, which means that this method of work “may not be called contracting at all.”

"Thousands of people have been paid too little over the past five years because of this sham," Zwart said.

The Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies stated that contracting could undermine the traditional revenue model of temporary work.

A spokesperson for PostNL said that the company operates fully within the law with regards to contracting.

Meanwhile, Tempo Team parent company Randstad stated that it is incorrect that the company 'knowingly avoids the temporary employment agreement'. It added that the salary that subsidiary Tempo Team pays out is in line with the market.

Banning contracting was on the table during negotiations for a new Collective Agreement for PostNL, however the ban was ultimately excluded. Employers and employees signed their new agreement last month, with the exception of the FNV.

Yesterday, Randstad reported that its profits were hit by a slowdown in its European markets while revenue saw a slight increase of 0.3% during the fourth quarter.