The week that was: 4 June 2010
Crozier’s salary, privatisation plans, and Plonkey installed… The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising, so grab yourself an ice-cream and sit back and relax with ‘the week that was’.
In the UK, a union has hit out after it was revealed that former Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier received almost £2.5m during his final year at the company. In addition to a $633,000 salary, Crozier received a $1.5m bonus for meeting long-term targets, and $206,000 in lieu of a pension. The figures were published in Royal Mail’s annual report. Crozier left in March, after serving two-months of a six-month notice period, and will be replaced by Moya Greene, from Canada Post. Dave Ward, Communication Workers Union deputy general secretary, said: “Postal workers will be outraged by news of Crozier’s salary and bonus. Adam Crozier’s bonus came after a year in which he oversaw a national postal strike, lost the confidence of his workforce and then left before the job of modernisation and business transformation was complete. Postal workers will be equally horrified at the pay given to other senior executives. Adam Crozier’s pension will be the envy of postal workers whose own, much smaller, pension pots are at risk.”
Two national operators have been involved in the differing ends of the privatisation debate this week. A government bill has been passed in Japan which aims to scale back privatisation of the country’s postal system. The lower house passed the key government bill earlier this week as it seeks to scale back on the proposals which initially came about after the 2005 election. It was carried after receiving support from the ruling coalition, and now the government intends to enact it through the House of Councillors by 16 June, end of the current Diet session.
But as the Japanese edge further away from privatisation, in Europe, the Greeks look to be heading the other way. The government could part-privatise the country’s postal service, Hellenic Post, as it looks to bolster the country’s coffers. The decision, which could see 39% of the organisation sold, forms a part of a wider plan to sell off a number of publicly-owned companies. The public sector sell-off forms part of a bail-out plan, devised by the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
In the US, news reached Post&Parcel this week that Susan M. Plonkey is the new acting president, Mailing and Shipping Services, at USPS. Plonkey succeeds Robert F. Bernstock, who is leaving the Postal Service to pursue interests in the private sector. As acting president, Plonkey is responsible for all product management, product development, retail and commercial products and services, as well as commercial sales. The division is responsible for more than $65bn in annual revenue. Prior to this appointment, Plonkey served as vice president of Sales, where she led the integration of the Postal Service’s sales and service organizations to address the needs of commercial mailers, from small- and mid-sized enterprises to large businesses.
And finally…
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