Gov't begins talks with union fortrimming postal staff

Gov’t begins talks with union fortrimming postal staff
From Kyodo News International April 10th, 2001
TOKYO, April 10 (Kyodo) _ The chief of the Postal Services Agency said Tuesday the agency has begun negotiations with its labor union on trimming the 140,000-strong workforce at post offices with the aim of rebuilding loss-making postal operations.

”It’s desirable that postal operations break even when a public postal services corporation is established in 2003. We have to take very extensive steps for that,” Seijiro Adachi, director general of the agency, told a press conference.

”We are hoping to sort out (the degree of workforce reduction and other details) with the union in the fall of this year,” he said.

The agency, created Jan. 6 in line with the sweeping realignment of government ministries and agencies, is scheduled to become a public corporation in two years.

While it will still be a state-run entity, the new corporation to take over the three postal businesses — mail delivery, savings and insurance — is to be financially independent.

Although Adachi declined to give a target for the workforce reduction, agency sources said a cut of between 10,000 and 20,000 staff over five years is being eyed.

The mail delivery service fell into the red in fiscal 1998 due to a decline in parcel deliveries due to competition from the private sector.

It is expected to post a loss of more than 30 billion yen in fiscal 2001, which began April 1, for the fourth consecutive year in the red.

”Inefficiency remains (in the mail delivery service) due to slow progress in the redistribution of management resources under the principle of operating uniformly nationwide,” Adachi said.

The agency also plans to reduce the 28 postal savings administrative centers nationwide to 11 when the independent public corporation is set up.

KYODO NEWS INTERNATIONAL, 10th April 2001