Conflict at La Poste: employees must make up missed hours after forest fires

Bordeaux – 04.08.2026: Following the severe forest fires in Gironde, a dispute has erupted at La Poste over how to deal with lost working time. More than 500 employees who were unable to work for several days due to evacuations, blocked access roads or closed workplaces are expected to make up the missed hours later. Franceinfo reported this on Tuesday. Those affected criticise the decision as unfair and speak of a double burden.

La Poste had already announced on 27 July that the fires in Gironde and in the departments of Landes and Var were disrupting operations in several areas. Sites were closed or evacuated as a precaution, delivery rounds were adjusted and temporarily suspended. This delayed the delivery of letters, newspapers and parcels; some postal services were temporarily available only to a limited extent.

According to the group, around 550 employees were directly affected by the consequences of the fires. Some stayed with relatives or acquaintances, while others received support from the company’s social services. In its communications, La Poste primarily highlighted protective measures for staff and the gradual resumption of key services. How the lost working time was to be handled was initially not the main focus.

The arrangement that has now become known is therefore meeting resistance. The employees did not stay away from work by their own choice, but followed official instructions or were unable to reach their workplaces, they argue. In their view, the operational consequences of an exceptional dangerous situation are thus being shifted onto staff. Unionised employees are calling for a different solution, according to the report.

For the postal group, the conflict touches on a fundamental question of work organisation after disasters: how should hours lost due to evacuations, access restrictions and precautionary business closures be treated? A later adjustment may balance working-time accounts on paper, but it increases the workload in the weeks following the return to regular operations. At the same time, delayed shipments must be processed and interrupted delivery routes reorganised.

The forest fires had significant effects on transport, supplies and public services in southwestern France. La Poste referred to ongoing adjustments intended to protect employees and stabilise the distribution of letters and parcels again. No detailed public statement from the company on the specific accounting of missed hours or on possible exceptions for particularly affected employees was available on Tuesday.