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TNT and trade unions consider extending present Collective Labour Agreement to 1 April 2008

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

TNT and trade unions ABVAKABO FNV, BVPP, CNV Publieke Zaak and VPP are considering extending the term of the present TNT Collective Labour Agreement to 1 April 2008. Employees who fall under the present Collective Labour Agreement will receive a one-off gross payment of, in total, EUR 525, comprised of a one-off gross payment of EUR 400 in December this year and a one-off gross payment of EUR 125 in March 2008 for the employees in service at that time.

The background of this possible extension is to in addition to the proposals submitted previously by TNT and those submitted by the trade unions, create more time to jointly develop alternatives that could achieve the required, earlier announced, structural savings. The need for these structural savings was verified in June this year by the Boston Consulting Group in its study commissioned by the unions and the works council Productie. The objective is to – before the end of this year – reach an agreement in principle on the new Collective Labour Agreement that would come into effect from 1 April 2008.

The negotiating partners have agreed to set up a working group to develop proposals on how to chart and address the work pressure encountered by employees.

In the event of any conflict or discrepancy between this press release and the original Dutch version of this press release the Dutch version prevails.

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La Poste (Belgium): Two post sorting centres on strike

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

The workers at two sorting centres of Belgium postal company La Poste in Brussels are on strike at the moment.

Workers failed to start work on Thursday evening at the centre in in Schaarbeek. Some of the residents of Schaarbeek and Etterbeek may therefore not get any post delivered today.

The workers are dissatisfied with the automated sorting system and the communication from management at the centre.

About 20 workers went on strike spontaneously Friday morning at the centre in Koekelberg. They are not happy with the new sorting system.

That sorting centre distributes the post for Koekelberg, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Ganshoren and Sint-Agatha-Berchem. Some of the residents of these municipalities will most likely not receive post today either.

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Canada Post launches in Second Life

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

On Saturday, Canada Post will launch a virtual city in Second Life, where online shoppers will be able to visit the 3D virtual stores of Canada Post’s retail partners and shop for real gifts and merchandise.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Canadians in Second Life,” said Laurene Cihosky, SVP for Canada Post’s direct marketing division, in a statement.

Maple Grove , the name of the virtual city, is being positioned as a comfortable place for them to visit because of its uniquely Canadian feel, she said.

“The post office is the center of many communities across Canada. That’s why Maple Grove is part of the Second Life community instead of an isolated island,” Cihosky said, referring to the practice of building on a separate island away from the Second Life mainland for which many businesses opt. “Just like your local post office, visitors to Maple Grove can visit Canada Post and send packages or buy stamps, cards and gift cards and send them anywhere in Canada.”

The city will include a collection of stores from Canadian and American retailers who participate in Canada Post’s lookbook catalog. The lookbook highlights a selection of products from participating companies, with Canada Post handling the orders and fulfillment for most. Retailers in Maple Grove will include Toys “R” Us, The Shopping Channel, Brookstone, SkyMall, Red Canoe and Everything Olive.

Maple Grove will be launched on Saturday with a six-hour virtual live music festival. The virtual city will host additional Second Life events throughout the holiday season, including concerts, film screenings and shopping events.

Many retailers are offering incentives for Second Life visitors. The Shopping Channel will broadcast a variety of special offers, Everything Olive is offering an eco-friendly gift tote with purchase and Brookstone will take USD 15 off all purchases of USD100 or more.

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USPS: Surge doubles holiday mail volume to Iraq

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

The surge in military personnel sent to Iraq is contributing to an overall increase in overseas mail delivery by almost 200 percent and average volume will quadruple during the peak holiday week. The U.S. Postal Service is reminding friends and families to send holiday mail destined to troops stationed overseas as early as possible.
Tuesday, Nov. 13, is the first recommended date for sending holiday packages to troops stationed overseas using Parcel Post to all Air/Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) ZIP Codes. Parcel Post is the most economical shipping option for families. The last recommended date for mail going to the war zone is Dec. 4, but for mail destined to all other international military installations, it is Dec. 19.
All military mail, regardless of destination, is sent by domestic mail rate. International rates do not apply to military mail delivery.
The Postal Service is expecting to deliver 20 million pounds of mail to military installations around the world this holiday season. The second week of December should be the busiest week for overseas delivery. Mail to Iraq alone during this period is expected to increase more than 400 percent over the average weekly volume.
The Postal Service has created a special mailing and shipping kit designed specifically for military families sending packages overseas. Each of these CARE KITs contains two Priority Mail boxes, six Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, eight Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and eight customs forms with envelopes. Flat Rate Boxes are a special value. Customers pay only USD 8.95, regardless of the weight or destination of the package.

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UK holidaymakers ‘can’t be bothered’ to claim over GBP 13 billion on travel insurance

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

New figures released today by Post Office Travel Services reveal that 70 per cent of UK holidaymakers are not claiming on their travel insurance when they are entitled to and are potentially missing out on over GBP 13.5 billion.

The research shows that while 62 per cent of UK holidaymakers experienced a flight delay, 22 per cent lost or damaged luggage and 15 per cent were involved in an accident or needed to seek medical treatment, less than a third made a claim on their insurance.

When asked why they did not claim, a third of people said that the excess on their policy – the amount the individual pays to make a claim – was set too high. A further 23 per cent said they simply didn’t bother to even try to claim as it was too much hassle. Nearly one in eight didn’t even realise they could.

Holidaymakers aged between 25 and 44 were the least likely to claim, with over three quarters saying they had not made a travel claim despite having experienced something which could have warranted a policy payout.

At the Post Office customers can discuss the type of insurance they need over the counter, face to face or by telephone. This will ensure they are getting the appropriate level of cover for their specific needs. The maximum excess on all policies is GBP 50 and in the event that a customer needs to make a claim, the procedure at the Post Office is simple and straightforward. Settlement is guaranteed within five working days with a valid, fully documented claim.

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Vending machines for prescription drugs

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

After visiting the doctor for the flu or other common complaint, the last thing consumers want to do is to make a second trip to a pharmacist and wait while their prescription gets filled. InstyMeds, a US startup, has devised a novel way to make getting medications easy. The company’s vending machines are designed to be placed in doctors’ offices, clinics, emergency rooms and other healthcare facilities. Each holds 100 of some of the most often used medications that can range from pills to drops to creams and so forth.

InstyMeds machines require that physicians create prescriptions electronically, which are then transmitted to the vending location. (Alternately, patients can take printed prescriptions to their regular pharmacists.) The machines include several safeguards to insure patients receive the proper medications their doctors ordered. From the patients’ point of view, however, the ordering process is relatively simple. They enter their prescription number and birthday via a user-friendly touchscreen monitor, then insert either cash or credit cards to cover co-pays, while their insurance companies are billed automatically.

Besides saving time for patients, InstyMeds machines also save pharmacists the slow and potentially error-prone process of counting out medications by hand. Indeed, relieving pharmacists from such routine tasks could turn out to be the machine’s major benefit. With pharmacist salaries in the United States climbing over USD 100,000, the time savings can mean significant cash savings. The vending machines, which are accessible 24/7, likewise could help alleviate a growing shortage of pharmacists. Moreover, InstyMed’s founders note that by handling routine prescriptions the vending machines let pharmacists focus on more important tasks such as counselling patients.

While start-up costs are likely to be high for any new venture in the heavily-regulated health arena, InstyMeds illustrates how entrepreneurs can devise niche products that handily meet customer needs while potentially chipping away at ever-growing healthcare costs.

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FedEx Kinko's opens Hillsboro site Nov. 5

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

The new store is at 1221 NE 48th St., near the Costco warehouse. It will be one of about 200 new Kinko’s centers across the United States to follow a small-format design. The company announced plans for these compact stores in August. Each will average about 1,800 square feet in size. The same compact design is planned for an additional 300 locations slated to open in 2008.

Despite their small footprint, each FedEx Kinko’s offers more than 700 different office products. They’re also equipped to offer access to a large range of services including copying and digital printing, professional finishing, document creation and videoconferencing.

Web-based printing is also available through Print Online, a tool that allows customers to digitally forward documents to FedEx Kinko’s centers for printing. Customers can also specify finishing options, track the status of orders and review their prior order histories and reuse saved print jobs, all from the same Web site.

FedEx Kinko’s also provides notary and direct mail services, in addition to the full range of FedEx ground and global express shipping services.

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Aramex inaugurates Beirut Free Zone Logistics Centre

Posted by | Nov 1, 2007 | |

The Beirut Port Authority recently launched its new logistics free zone which houses facilities for key regional and international providers including Aramex. Aramex unveiled its centre which will reinforce the company’s multimode solutions. The new centre will generate better transit times for the sea and land movement of goods from Europe and North Africa to the GCC and Levant countries.

Asma Abboud, Aramex Lebanon Manager, said: “Aramex started operation in Lebanon since 1988 and employs more than 200 specialized staff members. As part of our ongoing investment in the local logistics and transportation industry, we have recently launched our Karantina Logistics Centre offering customers a variety of innovative logistics, warehousing and transportation solutions. The new facility at the Beirut Port Free Zone represents another key investment in the country and will lead to the recruitment of new logistics professionals”.

Aramex operates logistics facilities in Jebel Ali Free Zone in the UAE, Sahab Duty Free in Jordan, and others in Riyadh, Jeddah, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, India and Iran. The opening of the Beirut Free Zone facility is yet another element of the investment strategy for Aramex’s logistics infrastructure in the region. This includes the upgrade of existing facilities and the establishment of new centers such as the one at the Dubai Logistics City which will cover 240,000 sq meters.

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