Wildcat postal strikers have aided Birmingham parcels group Business Post’s bid to break into the Royal Mail’s £5 billion monopoly, the company’s boss said.
Paul Carvell criticised the recent stoppages which brought mail services, especially in London, as a ‘bloody nuisance’.
But he warned workers that all the disputes had done was boost his company’s case in the government’s eyes for taking a slice of Royal Mail’s currently protected market.
Read MoreThe Spanish post office has said it plans to invest – 750 million over the next three years to enhance its traditional postal services, reinforce its diversification and financial services and look for new business opportunities. Chairman Víctor Calvo-Sotelo said that under its 2004-2006 Strategic Plan, the post office is also aiming to increase its revenues by 5% annually in order to reach – 2.2 billion in 2006.
Read MoreThe head of Deutsche Post AG, Klaus Zumwinkel, has confirmed that a higher dividend payment from the postal and logistics group was possible if results improved this year.
“It depends on this year’s results,” Zumwinkel said at a Deutsche Post event in Berlin. “My finance chief (Edgar Ernst) has already said that in the event of an appropriate rise in earnings we will pay a higher dividend.”
Read MoreJaroslav Dobrotka, director general of state postal company Slovenska Posta proposed to publishers of periodical press that the company will sell them databases of their subscribers. He maintains that they have the right to administer their subscriber databases. Mr. Dobrotka met on Thursday with representatives of the Slovak Association of Periodical Publishers and Minister of Transport, Postal Services and Telecommunications Pavol Prokopovic. The main point on the meeting’s agenda was Slovenska Posta’s intention to sell its 100-percent subsidiary, newspaper distributor to households Postova Obchodna Novinova Spolocnost (PONS).
Read MorePostcomm has asked Royal Mail to communicate more effectively with customers of its Mailsort business service and to work with Postwatch, the consumer body, to settle grievances. The recommendations follow an investigation by Postcomm after the Office of Fair Trading referred a super-complaint from Postwatch to it. Postwatch was concerned that Royal Mail may have been abusing its dominant position in the Mailsort market, significantly harming the interests of consumers. Postcomm gathered evidence to see whether or not there were sufficient grounds to investigate a potential licence breach. However, Postcomm’s investigation did not find sufficient evidence to give it reasonable grounds to suspect an infringement of Royal Mail’s licence or to warrant further investigation under the Competition Act 1998. But Postcomm did find that there was room for improvement in Royal Mail’s communications with its Mailsort customers and its handling of their complaints, and has recommended that Royal Mail work with Postwatch to improve this part of its operation.
Read MoreThe Norwegian Postal Service (Posten Norge) will be facing competition after several Norwegian newspapers have established the company Mediapost which will be distributing newspapers, magazines and books.
Aftenposten, the Labour Press and Orkla Media have taken the initiative to form the new distribution company, and will utilize their own distribution network for the new company.
Read MoreSmall businesses stand to lose up to £50 million from the wildcat postal strikes that crippled services in London, the suburbs and beyond, the Federation of Small Businesses claims.
Stephen Alambritis, of the federation, said the strike would cost companies Pounds 30 million if the backlog was cleared in the next few days, but up to Pounds 50 million if it took longer to deliver the 50 million or so items delayed by the action. Royal Mail estimates it could take up to three weeks.
Read MoreFour congressional Democrats have asked the U.S. Postal Service to reconsider its decision to allow cheaper postal rates for nonprofit groups that team up with commercial companies to raise money. In a letter to postal officials Friday, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and Reps. Henry A. Waxman, David R. Obey and John W. Olver warned that the change in the cooperative mail rule, set to take effect Thursday, would give rise to arrangements in which a commercial fundraiser solicits money for a charity but pockets much of the money.
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