Author: Archive

US mail carriers want fair deal from USPS

Posted by | Aug 28, 2006 | |

The head of the National Association of Letter Carriers urged the U.S. Postal Service today at the opening of contract negotiations to build on an improved labor relations climate and reward letter carriers with a “fair” wage increase and continued benefits for helping it become a profitable and productive government agency.
NALC President William H. Young noted that the Postal Service has eliminated the debt of USD 11.3 billion it had in 2001 when the current contract began. The Postal Service has turned an USD 8.4 billion profit over the past three years, he added.
“Letter carriers expect to be rewarded for their contributions to the success of the Postal Service,” Young said.

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Japan Post to double number of post offices selling mutual funds

Posted by | Aug 28, 2006 | |

Tokyo

Japan Post said Monday it will nearly double the number of post offices offering customers investment trusts to 1,155, starting Oct. 2.

In addition, the government-backed postal services provider will begin enabling holders of accounts for investment trusts to make additional purchases and cancel or alter the type of investment tool via the phone or Internet next year.

Japan Post has described sales of investment trusts as one of the revenue pillars for postal savings banks and over-the-counter service providers at its nationwide offices, which will be created when its 10-year privatization process starts in October 2007.

At present, nine types of investment trust are available at a total of 605 post offices nationwide. In October, 550 post offices will be added to the list.

Telephone-based purchases of additional investment trusts will be enabled in January, to be followed in May by Net-based marketing of such financial instruments.

Japan Post envisages posting 540 billion yen in investment trust sales during fiscal 2006 through March 31, 2007.

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JV for Cathay and Air China?

Posted by | Aug 28, 2006 | |

Cathay Pacific and Air China are looking to set up a joint venture cargo airline based in Shanghai.

The proposal is part of several areas of planned co-operation between the two, linked to Cathay’s impending takeover deal of Draqonair, which involves an exchange of shareholdings between Air China and Cathay Pacific.

That deal is expected to be completed within the next few weeks after the shareholders of Air China, Cathay Pacific Airways, China National Aviation Company (CNAC) and CITIC Pacific last week approved the proposed shareholding realignment.
A spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific told IPW that all that remained was for several administrative details to be finalised.
Details of the cargo joint venture and other possible areas of co-operation could be decided only once the broader deal was completed, she said.

“That [cargo joint venture] is just at the concept stage. But it will be a joint venture cargo airline.

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Royal Mail to copy Unipart share scheme

Posted by | Aug 27, 2006 | |

Royal Mail plans to model its controversial employee share scheme on one that has delivered thousands of pounds of profit to workers at Unipart.

The Unipart scheme has been running since John Neill, Unipart’s chief executive, led a buyout of the business from British Leyland in 1987. The scheme is credited with transforming the company’s relationship with its 10,000 workers.

The Government is keen on the scheme, which it says it does not regard as a first step to privatisation. But a change in legislation is required for it to go through and more than 200 Labour MPs have threatened to vote against it.

An employee share scheme is also fiercely opposed by the Union of Communication Workers – which has threatened to withhold its Pounds 200,000 contribution to the Labour Party if the Government gives the green light.

Royal Mail regards employee share ownership as part of a wider shake-up that will see the Government help it to deal with its pension deficit by freeing up cash for investment to help it compete with private firms.

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DHL launches Import Express Online in Venezuela

Posted by | Aug 27, 2006 | |

Jorge Lavignasse, general director of DHL Express Venezuela, states that by the end of this year his firm will have grown 20%. The group already controls an alleged 60%-plus of the local express (goods) transport market. Its new tool known as Import Express Online, a system for the control of dispatches via Internet to make the importer’s work more efficient is paying off well (it will cost around Bolivar dollars 550mil to install for the whole of Venezuela). DHL Express Venezuela, in the knowledge that the nation is a going and growing business concern, should be able to grow sales 20% this year thanks to the value-added services it is offering: not only does it transport merchandise but it helps speed up bureaucratic proceedures at customs for imports or exports it is handling.
Import Express Online is being applied worldwide and supplements other services DHL already offers such as DHL Importa (call-centre help-line) and DHL Personal Import (customer attention for those who carry out sporadic imports).

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Belgian Post Net Profit Up to 83 Mln Euro H1 2006

Posted by | Aug 27, 2006 | |

Belgian postal services company De Post/La Poste generated a net profit of 83 mln euro (USD 105.9 mln) in the first half of 2006, up 3.0 pct year-on-year, the company said on August 24, 2006.
The company’s operating profit increased to 100 mln euro (USD 127.6 mln) from 64 mln euro (USD 81.7 mln) a year earlier.
Sales rose by 5.0 pct to 1.122 bln euro (USD 1.432 bln).
De Post said its results indicated that the company’s financial health was improving.
The number of deliveries hardly fell in the reporting period, despite rising competition on the part of electronic media, De Post said. In fact, deliveries volumes rose in all segments except ordinary and registered mail, driven by the growing economy and new delivery contracts. However, the volumes are falling sharply in most countries, so De Post, too, has factored in a potential future decline in its outlook.
De Post (www.post.be) said it also improved the quality of its service and delivered more parcels and letters on time.

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Royal Mail is sorting out its property portfolio

Posted by | Aug 27, 2006 | |

Royal Mail has embarked on a wholesale clear-out of its property portfolio. The move is part of the group’s attempt to become more commercial in the wake of the opening up of the postal market to competition earlier this year.

It is looking to dispose of 130 of its disused post offices, sub post offices and delivery centres that are loss making. It will also transfer ownership of a further 180 properties to a commercial buyer.

The move comes after Royal Mail executives revealed that a commercially viable postal network would comprise just 4,000 post offices, compared with the current 14,500.

Royal Mail said the 310 properties represented only 2.9 per cent of its total operating space and that it intended to lease back any property that it still required.

The funds raised from the disposal will be used to modernise Royal Mail’s facilities and equipment. The company expects to generate cost savings in the region of pounds 5m.

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FedEx Express and ALPA Announce Tentative Labor Agreement

Posted by | Aug 27, 2006 | |

FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX), and the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l. (ALPA), the collective bargaining representative for FedEx Express pilots, jointly announced today that they reached a tentative agreement (TA) on a new labor contract on Saturday evening. Negotiations have been conducted under the guidance of the National Mediation Board since October 2005 and both parties acknowledged the Board’s support.

The new agreement is subject to review and finalization of contract language, which is expected to be completed shortly. Terms of the tentative agreement are not being released as they first must be reviewed and approved by the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). If approved, the TA will be subject to a ratification vote by about 4,700 FedEx pilots and if ratified, the four-year contract would become amendable in 2010.

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