Year: 2007

Postal workers union members approve four-year contract

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

Members of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the largest of the U.S. Postal Service unions, have voted to ratify a new four-year contract. The new contract will run through Nov. 20, 2010, and affect approximately 272,000 career employees in the Clerk, Maintenance and Motor Vehicle crafts.

The agreement provides for retroactive and future general wage increases and upgrades as follows:
• Effective Nov. 25, 2006 – 1.3 percent salary increase of salary in effect on Sept. 2, 2006.
• Effective Feb. 16, 2008 – all eligible employees will receive a one-level upgrade.
• Effective Nov. 21, 2009 – 1.2 percent salary increase of salary in effect on Sept. 2, 2006.
The contract also contains continuation of cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) at current levels and a reduction in Postal Service health benefit contributions by one percentage point each of the four years.

The agreement also includes a Memorandum of Understanding, which, among other changes, will result in part-time flexible career employees being converted to full-time and management having more flexibility with regard to the use of noncareer, casual employees.

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Indian, Chinese express firms plan cooperation

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

Two of the leading locally-owned express transport groups in India and China plan to cooperate to profit from soaring trade between the two fast-growing Asian economies. Bilateral trade between China and India grew 83% to USD18 billion in 2006 and is expected to reach USD40 billion by 2010.

Gati, one of the largest road express operators in India, and China Railway Express International Logistics (CREIL) have signed a memorandum of understanding covering cooperation in courier services, freight forwarding, ocean freight and logistics.

Under the agreement, CREIL and Gati will be responsible for all infrastructure arrangements and transportation of shipments in China and India, respectively. The two firms are reportedly looking into creating a direct road landbridge between India and China through the Himalayas to transport shipments as well as using air and sea connections.

“This arrangement will enable the two companies to complement each other’s strength and service the large base of customers in India and China,” said Mahendra Agarwal, CEO and MD, Gati. The Indian company covers 594 of India’s 602 districts while CREIL, a unit of China Railways, covers 500 cities in the 31 Chinese provinces.

Hyderabad-based Gati has embarked on a major international growth strategy over the last year which is designed to transform it from a domestically-focused company into an international player. CREIL mostly uses the China Railway network for rail-based freight transport but also has a fleet of over 3,500 delivery trucks for nationwide distribution.

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TNT appoints new Abu Dhabi General Manager

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

TNT has appointed Salim KP as its new Abu Dhabi General Manager, who plans to grow the company’s UAE capital business by 50% this year.

Salim KP takes up the top position following a year as TNT’s Key Accounts Manager, where he was instrumental in securing numerous national and international accounts. He will immediately begin implementing a broad range of changes and new initiatives to spearhead TNT’s rapid growth in Abu Dhabi.

“Salim’s target is to establish TNT Abu Dhabi as the second best express delivery provider in the capital, and place us firmly on track to becoming the industry’s premier company by the end of 2008,” said Bryan Moulds, Country General Manager, TNT UAE.

“He will be focusing on the banking sector and the oil and aviation industries. We will be expanding our operations in Abu Dhabi by adding two more satellite offices and will double our staff and current fleet.”

Prior to joining TNT in 2006, KP worked as Country Manager for First Flight ME and has nearly two decades of international industry experience working in India, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, where he won UAE Sales Person of the year on four consecutive occasions.

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Licence expected for An Post/Fortis joint venture

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

The Financial Regulator is expected to grant a banking licence to the new An Post/Fortis joint venture following approval for the joint venture by the European Commission.

A senior banking source predicted last night that a banking licence would be forthcoming from the Regulator for two reasons.

An Post subsidiaries One Direct and PayPoint are already in successful operation around the country, while Fortis is a leading financial institution in a number of Continental markets.

Former Aer Rianta chief executive Margaret Sweeney has been appointed chief executive of the new An Post/Fortis banking joint venture which will provide a broad range of retail banking services to the Irish market, including daily banking, savings products, insurance, credit cards and mortgages, through the Post Office network.

Application has also been made to the Irish Financial Regulator for a banking licence.

An Post chairperson Margaret McGinley and chief executive Donal Connell congratulated Ms Sweeney on her appointment, describing it as another important milestone in the establishment of the new Irish retail bank.

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India Post gears up to revive parcel biz

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

It will no longer be just passengers who’ll enjoy the comfort of travelling in air-conditioned trains. Now even your parcels – small, medium and large – booked with the Department of Posts (DoP) will be delivered across the country via the network of AC trains running in India.

In an effort to revive its parcel business, India Post has inked a deal – the Joint Parcel Product initiative – with Indian Railways. As per the MoU, to be signed soon, while the Railways will reserve a space in all Shatabdis and Rajdhanis for these parcels, India Post will ensure the pick up and delivery part of it.

Over the last five years DoP has seen a decline of over 77% in the unregistered parcel business with revenues coming down to a mere Rs 7.45 crore in 2004-05, as against Rs 32.70 crore in 2000-01.

Explaining that the tie-up would be on a revenue sharing basis, Khan said: “India Post is losing a huge chunk of its revenues from the parcel business to private players in the industry and the initiative will help us cope up with our deficit of Rs 1,100 crore by 2011.”

According to the last industry survey done in 2003, logistics and parcel business in India is to the tune of Rs 75,000 crore and DoP contributes a minuscule 0.5% or just Rs 400 crore to it. No wonder, the department is gearing up to establish a strong foothold in the parcel and logistics business.

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Oce Business Services expands mail certification program

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

Oce Business Services, Inc. announced today that it has increased its participation in the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Mailpiece Quality Control (MQC) training and certification program to enable clients to reduce postal costs and improve delivery. With a goal to have over 90 percent of its field personnel and management staff certified, Oce Business Services already has trained 88 percent of its senior level managers.

Through MQC training, mail services organizations can increase their knowledge of mail piece design to ensure its alignment with the USPS’ goal of 100 percent automation compatibility. Oce’s commitment to this program is exceptionally noteworthy, as on-site personnel, in addition to the company’s operations managers, are MQC trained and certified.

Oce’s training aligns with the USPS course guidelines and consists of intense study of bar coding specifications and requirements, mail classifications and processing categories, addressing, endorsements, reply mail, permit imprints and special handling of sensitive materials.

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Empost to deliver entry permits and residency documents through its Jawaz service- in Al-Ain

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

The move is expected to enhance and accelerate vital transactions between the Department and local residents and visitors.

Empost will deliver the confidential entry permit documents to residents of Al Ain,. The entry permits comprise all types of visas which are issued by the Department of Naturalization and Residency to any foreigners wishing to work in or visit the UAE.

Commenting on the agreement, Sultan Al Midfa, CEO, Empost said, ‘The rapid increase of people visiting the UAE has created the need for a reputed services provider, such as Empost, to assist in delivering the large number of visa’s which are being processed. This agreement will enhance the process involved in obtaining entry permits, as the quick and reliable delivery will eliminate the time and effort it takes to stand in document collection queues. This initiative came as a request from the Department of Naturalization and Residency to enhance their services.’

Empost offers a broad range of sector-specific courier services, including the Jawaz service which collects and delivers passports, consular documents and now entry permits to customers within 48 hours, or an emergency delivery within 24 hours. Reinforcing its position as one of the top courier companies in the Middle East, Empost now covers 225 destinations around the world including Australia, the American continents, Europe, Far East, Indian Sub Continent, Africa and all the Middle East.

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USPS Testing New Technology

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service will expand testing of Flats Sequencing System (FSS) technology to automate sortation of large envelopes, magazines, catalogs and circulars. The tests follow board approval of FSS last month. Currently, letter carriers manually sort flat mail before departing for their routes. The FSS equipment sorts flat mail at a rate of about 16,500 pieces per hour. Scheduled to operate 17 hours a day, each machine will be capable of sequencing 280,500 pieces a day to more than 125,000 delivery addresses.

A prototype FSS was tested last year at the Indianapolis Mail Processing Annex and a full-size pre-production machine is scheduled for installation soon at the Dulles, VA, mail processing facility, where it will operate six days a week from August 2007 to July 2008. The USPS will study and measure the system’s effect on transportation, logistics and work methods before deployment in 2008. Phase I of the FSS program calls for an initial order of 100 machines to be installed at 33 postal facilities beginning summer 2008.

“Delivery remains our largest cost, accounting for 43% of all expenses,” says Walt O’Tormey, VP engineering at USPS. “Combined with costs to serve almost 2 million new addresses each year, means we must pursue every opportunity to improve our efficiency.”

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