UNI signs agreement with UPU to increase cooperation on diversification, climate change and gender equality

UNI Global Union and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have today 6 July signed a new agreement to boost collaboration for the sustainable development of the international postal sector in the areas of business diversification, climate change and gender equality.

The agreement sets out concrete ways UNI and UPU can work together to promote ways that postal operators in UPU member states can expand services, protect the environment while also ensuring quality employment, workers’ rights and working conditions.

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Christy Hoffman, said:

“Post is an essential public good, and this agreement is a roadmap for using its far-reaching, global infrastructure to deliver new social services while protecting the climate and workers’ rights. We look forward to deepening our cooperation with the UPU towards a global postal system that is ecological, promotes gender equality, and that provides diverse services. The agreement signed today makes clear that worker participation and representation is vital to achieving these goals.”

The two parties will jointly work on a vision for post which goes beyond the collection, sorting and delivery of letters and parcels and offers a wide range of new and climate-neutral services and activities for communities and society by using the infrastructure and network of the postal sector. 

As postal services diversify, the agreement also endorses a smooth transition for postal workers and calls for social dialogue with their union representatives.

Masahiko Metoki, Director General, UPU International Bureau, said:

“Our longstanding partnership with UNI Global Union helps us to ensure that postal workers’ perspectives and needs are accounted for in the new era of digital transformation and service diversification. A proactive dialogue with all levels and categories of staff, based on inclusion, diversity and openness, is critical for the success of the Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations, and the sustainability strategies of the UPU member countries’ Posts.”

UNI will work with the UPU in its mission to improve gender equality and empower women in the postal sector, and the UPU will also refer to the International Labour Organization through its Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) and Violence and Harassment Recommendation, 2019 (No. 206).

The UPU is the United Nations’ specialized agency representing 192 member countries and the postal sector’s primary forum for international cooperation. UNI Global Union represents 2.5 million postal workers in over 100 countries worldwide.