Vietnam: Postal workers fear economic woes after telecom split

The upcoming split of post and telecommunications services could put some 45,000 postal workers in a state of financial crisis.

The split, originally scheduled to take place in 2002, was postponed, and postal services have been subsidised by the telecom sector. Policy makers said the move should create specialised corporations for post and telecom services, but insiders, including the postal staff, said they would face an uncertain future once the subsidies were cut.

Postal workers account for 49 per cent of the 90,000 employees at Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT), but the service brings in only 5-10 per cent of the total revenue, which is currently VND30 trillion (US$ 1.9 billion) a year.

VNPT is losing money compensating for the imbalance, which is affecting the growth of both services. Since October 2001, VNPT – then known as the Department General of Post and Telecommunications – has been testing the split in 10 provinces.

The trial revealed that the postal section would become more efficient after the split, possibly earning 30 per cent of the total revenue.

However the process is still moving quite slowly at provincial levels, reported Bui Quoc Viet, the spokesman of VNPT.

Viet said the biggest hindrance to the split was the lower incomes for postal workers. “The average monthly income of a VNPT worker currently is around VND1.5 million ($95). If the telecom corporation stops subsiding the postal sector, telecom workers’ incomes will go up to more than VND2 million,” Viet said. “But the postal service will no doubt suffer losses and its staff will have their incomes cut to below a million dong (less than $70),” he added.

Viet said the postal sector might also lose quality workers after the split.

Huynh Dinh Van, director of Hoi An Town Postal Service in the central province of Quang Nam, said the split worried all his workers. Hoi An Post is one of the trail blazers in the splitting effort.

Van said postal services required careful, diligent work, but now his workers did not have the peace of mind to do their jobs properly.

Hoang Tho Thai, VNPT’s deputy general director, said the postal sector would not be able to stand alone if it did not upgrade its technology. “Advanced technology will decide much of the postal service’s quality and productivity,” he added.

To deal with the challenge, Van said his post was diversifying and improving services and these efforts had actually benefited customers. Many postal workers have chosen to work after office-hours, like telephone bill collectors or mobile phone salespersons, as a way to raise their incomes.

The presence of big foreign couriers such as TNT, Fedex and DHL has also forced the local postal service to reform as well.

As a result, mail between Hanoi and HCM City is now delivered within the day, whereas it used to take two-three days. In addition, money forwarding and saving deposit services are now electronically managed at district levels. – VNS