Swiss Post will seek more operational alliances in future but there is little prospect of any all-encompassing strategic alliance or even part-privatisation, according to a senior executive. The comments follow a move by Swiss authorities towards restructuring the Swiss national postal operator into a public limited company with employees on contracts rather than staff with civil servant status.
Read MoreRoyal Mail’s service quality last year was the best on record, and was ahead of its targets for the vast majority of the mail, according to preliminary figures published today. 94.1% of First Class letters were delivered the working day after posting, compared to a target for the service of 93%. 98.8% of Second Class letters arrived within three days, compared to a target of 98.5%. Chief Executive Adam Crozier said, “These are fantastic results – they are the best ever, they are ahead of targets, and they show a sustained period of record performance stretching back to the summer of 2004. These levels of performance show that Royal Mail is determined to compete for business by offering customers the very best service at a value for money price. Rivals will find our standards difficult to match. Royal Mail’s postmen and women have done a first class job.”
Read MorePostal workers will be balloted for nationwide strikes unless a row over pay is resolved by next month, union leaders warned today. The Communication Workers Union gave Royal Mail a deadline for making progress on a dispute which has flared after the company decided to impose a 2.9% wage rise on postal workers.
In a letter to CWU members today, the union said it was “totally opposed” to the Royal Mail’s behaviour. Industrial relations have suffered in recent weeks after the union accused Royal Mail of trying to disrupt a ballot it was holding on future strategies covering pay, working conditions and pensions. The leadership has tabled a motion to next week’s annual conference of the CWU in Bournemouth urging the Royal Mail to reopen negotiations and to allow postal workers to have a vote on a final settlement.
The net profit of state-owned Albanian Post, the sole postal services provider in the southeast European country, almost doubled last year to 88.8 million leks (USD929,000/718,000 euro), as revenue rose by 8.9%, figures from the company showed on Monday. The company said earlier the planned introduction of new services, including newspaper distribution, e-mail services and mobile post offices would help it raise its revenue by 10% this year. It gave no revenue projection.
Read MoreShipping giant United Parcel Service has been named the country’s top business brand in the American Brand Excellence Awards 2006. FedEx also was named a top brand. Both Atlanta-based UPS and Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx compete with Plantation-based DHL in the package shipping business. Respondents said they ranked UPS highly for being an industry leader, forward-thinking, easy to use, ethical, popular and a growing company.
Read MoreDeutsche Post agreed with about 130,000 workers on a new wage accord whose components include cash payments and pay rises. Under the two-year pact, the company will pay out EUR250, or USD322, in cash during the first six months of the agreement, which runs from May 1, Deutsche Post said Saturday. The agreement is equal to a 2.3 percent wage increase in the first year of the program and a 2 percent increase in the second year, Deutsche Post said. Deutsche Post said it reached the accord after two rounds of talks with Ver.di, a trade union representing the interests of the company’s work force.
Read MoreThe Government today maintained it had not made any decision on whether to back a Royal Mail plan to issue shares to its workers. The idea, strongly supported by Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton, has alarmed the Communication Workers Union, which believes it would be a first step to privatising the postal service. New Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said today he would not be rushed into making any decision on whether to support the move. He said: “I have taken no decision at all. I am only 10 days into this job and I will not be rushed into any decision.” Mr Darling said he will be meeting Mr Leighton soon to discuss the shares issue.
Read MoreThe Royal Mail has made record profits of GBP 537 million, triggering a bonus of over GBP1,000 for 180,000 postal workers, it was announced.
The state owned operator also revealed that first class mail deliveries were the best in a decade while the number of letters being lost have been cut by half in the past year.
Chairman Allan Leighton said postmen and women had achieved a “fantastic turnaround” and would now benefit from one of the biggest profit shares with employees in UK corporate history.
Every worker will receive GBP1,074, amounting to GBP218 million of the Royal Mail’s profits.
Details of payments to executives will be revealed later although there has been speculation that Chief Executive Adam Crozier was paid almost GBP3 million last year.
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