Get ready for Sunday deliveries from Bpost
Belgium’s partly privatised postal services company Bpost has unveiled far-advanced plans to deliver parcels on Sundays. The company seems to be making an attempt to regain public confidence after it had to backtrack on a decision not to deliver all parcels to your doorstep because it couldn’t cope.
The first Sunday deliveries of parcels will start as early as next February. The project is the result of a deal struck between post office unions and the management. The deliveries will form part of a massive pilot that will run for one year.
Unions at Bpost have opposed the expansion of Sunday working for many years. “Old union men will be turning in their graves when they hear we will be making Sunday deliveries” says Jean-Pierre Nys of the socialist union. “This is an historic step. The world is changing. Whether we like it or not, there is a demand for Sunday deliveries”.
The pilot starts on 7 February. Postal workers will only be involved in Sunday-working on a voluntary basis. Employees will receive a 50% bonus for Sunday hours. The pilot will be evaluated after a year to see whether there was sufficient demand and enough staff willing to carry it out.
The union says many workers are eager to take part. The pilot will initially create 250 new roles, but that could rise to 500. Bpost currently operates limited Sunday deliveries with sorting by Bpost and delivery by independent couriers.