Threats of a national postal strike were put on hold last night after unions decided to return to the conciliation service Acas on Friday in a renewed effort to resolve a pay dispute with Royal Mail group Consignia. Union leaders have been threatening to call strikes from May 8 over changes to delivery patterns.
Read MoreThe postal ministry has shelved key decisions in the bills to reform the state-run postal system, because it sees no immediate solution to conflicts of opinion between the prime minister, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and related ministries.
Officials at the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said the two bills to be submitted to the current Diet session will present only a general outline on the key controversial issues.
The bills will enable the postal corporation to take over the government’s postal services, including mail delivery, savings and life insurance, and permit private businesses to offer nationwide postal services.
Postal workers say they will bring mail services to a halt on May 8 in a one-day strike to protest against plans to scrap the “second post” delivery as part of a company-wide shake-up.
The union argues that the move to provide just one mail delivery a day and increase the size of each postal worker’s round will cost jobs, lead to a worse service for customers and make the gap between tea breaks too long.
Yamato Transport Co. on Tuesday informed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s close aides of its conclusion that it would be difficult for the company to enter the mail delivery service, expressing dissatisfaction with the four bills on postal service deregulation to be submitted to the current Diet session, according to sources.
Yamato, the largest home delivery service firm in the country, is considering entering the mail delivery market.
TNT Logistics (Thailand) plans to triple its local business in 3 years, making Thailand the fastest growing market in Asia.
Thailand now competes neck and neck with Indonesia for the honours, said Winfried Kiesbueye, general manager of TNT Logistics (Thailand).
TPG NV said it still expects net income from continuing operations for the full year 2002 to grow by 5-10 pct assuming an unchanged business environment.
“Although the economic cycle still shows no clear evidence of recovery, sentiment continues to indicate that there could be an improvement in the second half of the year,” said CEO Peter Bakker.
In the first quarter, sales rose 8.5 pct to 2.898 bln eur from 2.776 bln, while EBIT fell to 255 mln eur from 331 mln eur, from the same period last year. Net income from continuing operations dropped to 143 mln eur from 168 mln eur. EPS came in at 0.30 eur compared to 0.41 in the first quarter last year.
FedEx Express has revised its existing service to include direct flights from Japan’s Narita airport to the Beijing and Shanghai airports. The changes involve the addition of three routes: from Narita to Beijing, from Narita to Shanghai, and from Beijing to Narita. ‘The flights follow the expansion of China’s distribution needs following its entry to the WTO,’ said FedEx Asia Pacific president David L. Cunningham. FedEx currently provides services to 202 Chinese cities and plans to add more in the next few years
Read MorePostmaster General John E. Potter today told mailing industry representatives that the universal mail service their companies and the American public rely on will be in jeopardy, unless there is a fundamental restructuring of the legislative and regulatory framework within which the Postal Service must operate. But a blueprint for change is on the table – a Transformation Plan for the U.S. Postal Service. Submitted to Congress earlier this month, the plan offers recommendations for fundamental long-term legislative reform, while addressing more immediate steps the Postal Service can take to reduce costs and foster growth. Speaking here to more than 2,500 delegates attending the National Postal Forum, Potter emphasized that the plan is not solely about the needs of the Postal Service. ‘It’s about you and the nine million other people who work in the nation’s $900 billion mailing industry,’ he said. ‘It’s about connecting people — preserving a national universal mail service that connects 280 million people, 125 million households, and 10 million businesses.
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