Employees at distribution centres of Dutch postal and parcel company PostNL are being overloaded physically. This is evident from several checks at depots at locations in Den Bosch, Dordrecht, Nieuwegein and Venlo. Physically too heavy work poses a greatly increased risk to employees' health. The Labour Inspectorate is now demanding that employers adjust working conditions so that employees are no longer overloaded.
The Labour Inspectorate checked at a site of the company in Venlo in September. There, it was found that employees were overloaded when moving containers. In addition, physical load risks had not been sufficiently identified and the necessary measures to prevent physical load had not been taken. In the Netherlands, it is compulsory to record health and safety risks and the related policy in a Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E).
In late November, the Labour Inspectorate carried out two scheduled checks at locations of the same employer in Nieuwegein and Den Bosch. A report from the FNV also arrived at the same time. That notification followed a survey that showed that parcel handlers at a postal and parcel company experience twice as many complaints as the industry average.
Three roll containers at a time
In Nieuwegein and Den Bosch, inspectors saw that employees were overloaded when sorting parcels. This involved weight and frequency of work. Parcels were manually transferred from trucks to smaller transport. Also, sometimes two or three full roll containers of parcels were pulled by hand at the same time.
The Labour Inspectorate found no further aids that could ease the heavy work. Inspectors also found the same conditions during a visit to a depot in Dordrecht in early December.
Night work
Furthermore, night work has been checked. The Dutch Labour Inspectorate is still investigating employees' working and rest times during the night. Employees are believed to have worked more night shifts than allowed by law. Night work occurs when more than one hour is worked between 00:00 and 06:00. Working at night can have negative health effects. Certain rules therefore apply to night work. The Labour Inspectorate monitors compliance with these rules.
The work in the depots was mainly done by temporary workers and people from social work facilities. The Labour Inspectorate is therefore also further investigating the role of the temporary employment agencies involved and the legality of work in the Netherlands by these employees.
