Author: Archive

Postcomm publishes criteria for approval of redress schemes for licensed postal operators (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Postcomm published its final criteria for approval of redress schemes.

Following consultation in January 2008 on approval criteria for redress schemes, Postcomm has today published its approval criteria and decision document. The document summarises the key issues raised by stakeholders in response to the consultation, suggestions from the industry working group for licensed postal operators (facilitated by Postcomm), and relevant best practice.

The key changes are:
– amendment to the scheme’s governance, monitoring and reporting criteria in relation to the governance arrangements and fee structure to ensure there is no disproportionate effect on any particular group of members;
– additional requirement for the scheme to reallocate the cost of any case to another scheme member where the fault is found to lie with it;
– amendment to the requirement for publicising the redress scheme to prevent premature referral to the scheme. The requirement now states that appropriate steps must be taken to ensure consumer awareness of the scheme;
– clarifying the complaints which the redress scheme must consider by drawing from the BERR decision document; and clarifying that the case handling will be free of charge but that a complainant may incur a cost in the form of telephone call charges etc. to contact the redress scheme (but that this should be kept to as low as reasonably practicable).

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EU approves 1.1 bln euro compensation for Poste Italiane

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

The European Commission said it has approved the 1.1 billion euros compensation Italy granted Poste Italiane SpA between 2006 and 2008 to meet the costs of fulfilling its universal postal service obligations.

Universal service ensures citizens and businesses located in rural areas get a comparable service to their urban counterparts.

The state support is in line with EU rules on public service compensation because it does not over-compensate Poste Italiane for providing these services, and therefore does not allow for cross-subsidies for other activities, the Commission said.

Poste Italiane is the universal postal service provider in Italy.

Over the period 2006-2008 Poste Italiane received 1.1 billion euros compensation for providing this public service.

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La Poste publish UPS results

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

La Poste has just published the results concerning the quality of the universal postal service for 2007 on its website.

The main findings pertain to:
– routing times for the principle postal services (First Class items, Colissimo counter services, international mail, etc.);
– accessibility to postal items at collection and pick-up outlets;
– the number of complaints filed, and the manner in which they were processed.

These indicators have been the focus of work performed jointly by La Poste and ARCEP since 2006. They are based in particular on a public consultation launched by the Authority in 2007 concerning user demands for information on the quality of the universal postal service. This consultation helped reveal that a need for new indicators was emerging: high expectations of information on registered mail items and on Colissimo counter services, and the publication of information on the transport of periodicals.

Several new universal postal service indicators were added last year:
– on the number of letter boxes and their location, based on last collection time;
– on delivery timeframes for periodicals;
– and on consumer satisfaction with the speed and efficiency with which La Poste processes complaints.

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Israel Post CEO warns of collapse

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Israel Post Company Ltd. CEO Avi Hochman warns that the company faces collapse unless fundamental changes were made in the competitive structure of the postal market and unless the company’s operating license was amended. He said that there was a link between the paralysis of the Ministry of Communications officials who supervise the company and the losses that he predicts.

Hochman noted that the company’s license came into effect on January 1, and that it would loss NIS 18 million (USD 5.25 million) for the first quarter. He attributes the losses to large customers which are turning to competitors that offer lower prices, while Israel Post’s rates are government controlled. Furthermore, Israel Post’s rates are public knowledge.

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Kuwait: Privatisation best way to update postal system

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Assistant Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Communication for Postal Sector Saud Abdulaziz Al-As’ousi said here Wednesday his country was working hard to update its postal system and introduce the latest technologies. “Kuwait has developed a vision for privatizing the postal system under the supervision of the Ministry of Communication,” he revealed in statements to KUNA on the sidelines of the 16th meeting of the Arab Standing Committee on Postal Services. “Privatization is the best solution for the problems of the post sector,” he pointed out. “Kuwait has developed a plan to modernize its 63 post offices thoroughly in order to better serve the citizens,” said Al-As’ousi who leads Kuwait delegation to the meeting.

“The three-day meeting mulled ways to reorganize the postal services in the Arab countries and separate between the posts of legislation, organization, and reform and development. “It probed the plan to initiate a pan-Arab database including all postal reforms, legislations and controls,” he disclosed. “The meeting also explored ways to promote postal exchanges among the Arab countries, and reviewed the measures aimed to combat money laundering and narcotics through postal systems. “The conferees set up a panel to organize the celebrations marking the development of the Arab postal systems.

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Postal regulator needs to deliver the goods (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Postcomm is seeking a new Chief Executive for November, when Sarah Chambers, ends her four-year term.

But what sort of job will the successful applicant take over? I hear whispers of some sort of reorganisation that is under consideration to create a “super-regulator” to transfer some of Postcomm’s responsibilities across to Ofcom, which at present oversees only the Royal Mail’s broadband activities.

“This is entirely a matter for the Government,” Ofcom insists.

Postcomm says that there is no change to the job specifications as they are advertised, which call for “a forward-thinking CEO … at a time when the postal market is undergoing profound change”. My informant insists whoever gets the top Postcomm job “is not going to be head-to-head with Allan Leighton [the Royal Mail chairman].”

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CWU – Postal regulation crippling Royal Mail (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

The Communication Workers Union which represents most postal workers at Royal Mail, has responded to Postcomm’s Strategy Review for further changes to the UK postal market.

The CWU, which has been a consistent critic of the liberalisation of the UK postal market, says that deregulation in the UK was too soon and that Postcomm has put the pursuit of competition ahead of safeguarding the USO.

The union said it was also strongly opposed to any ownership separation of Royal Mail’s activities. The CWU did not agree such separation has been successful in other regulated industries and did not see a need for greater accounting transparency and that moves to split Royal Mail should not be at the expense of an efficient and integrated Royal Mail.

It accused Postcomm of misjudging the postal market and that current declining mail volumes were not predicted in the last Price Control, resulting in significantly lower than anticipated profit levels. On downstream access, the CWU said that volumes had grown faster than forecast leaving Royal Mail struggling financially and calling for a reduction in the scope of the USO and an increase in stamp prices. It said that cost-reflective pricing measures had become necessary, resulting in requests for unpopular and divisive pricing structures such as zonal pricing. It called for a wider debate about the kind of postal service customers want before such measures are imposed.

The CWU was highly critical of Postcomm’s proposed erosion of the minimum standards required of new entrants under the licensing framework, saying it would leave customers with insufficient protections in place. The union called on the introduction of a mandatory publication of directly comparable performance data introduced as a licence condition for all postal operators, saying it would address the current unequal treatment of Royal Mail in terms of the monitoring of standards and enable customers to make informed choices in the market.

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SingPost records net profit growth of 6.8pct to SGD149M

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Singapore Post Limited (“SingPost”) announced its unaudited results for the fourth quarter and financial year ended 31 March 2008.

For FY2007/08, the Group’s revenue increased by 8.4pct from SGD436.0 million to
SGD 472.6 million. All business segments showed an improvement in performance for the full year.

♦ Mail revenue grew by 7.9pct from SGD338.4 million to SGD365.3 million, underpinned by higher mail volumes and price adjustments. Revenue was boosted with the growth in direct mail which saw a 16.4pct increase in traffic as well as higher traffic in domestic and international mail. DMrocket, a one-stop direct mail centre, was launched during the year, fuelling greater interest in direct mail as a cost-effective means for businesses to reach out to their customers. During the year, SingPost’s hybrid mail business expanded into Hong Kong and Thailand.
♦ Logistics revenue rose by 6.7pct from SGD64.3 million to SGD68.6 million, due to higher contributions from Speedpost, vPOST online shopping and shipping transactions, and warehousing, fulfillment and distribution. A new service Speedpost Centre was launched to cater to retail and corporate customers.
♦ Retail recorded a 10.8pct increase in revenue from SGD55.6 million to SGD61.6 million, as increased contributions from financial services and retail products offset the decline in agency and bill presentment services. In FY2007/08, SingPost collaborated with new partners to introduce a variety of financial products and valueadded services. These included two new remittance services – Visa Money
Transfer and Cashome to Indonesia – with Visa and Bank Negara Indonesia respectively, and an investment fund with Prudential Asset Management. It also started offering more value-added services including five key Immigration and Customs Authority (ICA) e-services. SingPost was also the ticketing agent for major events such as the F1 Grand Prix, Chingay Festival and Singapore Air Show. Highvalue products were also offered via its shop@POST catalogue.
1.00 SGD = 0.728948 USD

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