Postal Digest – Union deal for Euromed; Poles take early retirement

More news from around the postal world, including a UNI deal with the Euromed group and Croatian Post’s TV ambitions…

Euromed group signs cooperation deal with UNI

UNI, the global union for skills and services, has signed an agreement wo work with the Euromed Postal group on issues like remittances, health and safety and training for workers.

UNI said the deal signed at UPU headquarters in Bern yesterday would allow workers and postal operators to share experiences and support sustainable development throughout the Euromed region.

The Euromed Postal group was formed in March last year by 13 postal operators around the Mediterranean, from France and Italy to Egypt and Turkey. “This agreement provides a great opportunity to promote sustainable jobs and quality postal services throughout the Euromed region,” said UNI post and logistics head Neil Anderson.

UPU acquires Penny Black stamp

The Universal Postal Union has acquired one of the world’s first postage stamps for its stamp collection.

The Penny Black that joins UPU’s collection of 800,000 stamps was issued in May 1840, It was the brainchild of Sir Rowland Hill, the Victorian postal reform campaigner who invented the modern system of postage.

UPU director general Edouard Dayan said the Penny Black represented one of the “great moments” in world postal history as he unveiled the acquisition at a ceremony this week at UPU headquarters in Bern this week.

1,500 Polish postal staff take voluntary retirement

Polish Post has said more than 1,500 of its staff have accepted voluntary early retirement since it was offered at the end of January.

Poland’s national postal service is hoping that a total of 2,300 workers will take early retirement before the offer deadline at the end of March as it seeks to slim its workforce in the light of mail volume declines.

In a statement, Polish Post said it was aiming to build “competitive and profitable” organisation by 2015, building on growth in its parcel and financial services segments.

Croatian Post signs digital television deal

Croatian Post has signed a 10-year co-operation deal with Croatia’s Board of Broadcasters with the intention of becoming a digital TV provider.

The company said its service would use the latest broadcasting technology, DVBT-2, which offered a high capacity for digital signals, and that its service would be available to 95% of Croatians, even where there is no Internet access.

Croatian Post said it would offer some free channels, along with entertainment packages, with customers able to sign up in any of its 1,128 post offices.