Tag: Domestic

Postal workers return in Oxfordshire

Posted by | Jan 5, 2008 | |

Postal workers in Oxfordshire returned to work this morning but union leaders are warning it could be Friday before any mail is delivered.

Communication Workers Union representative Bob Cullen said there was a backlog of “millions and millions” of letters and parcels at the Oxford Mail Centre in Cowley.

As a result, staff who would normally be delivering mail have been called in to help with the mass sorting operation.

Mr Cullen said: “The problem is that it is not just mail backed up in the system – the public and businesses have been told to hold back until today and there is going to be a deluge of new mail.”

Meanwhile, postal workers in the Liverpool and Glasgow areas refused to go back to work today and there are fears the wildcat action could spread nationally.

The situation is also likely to remain chaotic next week with strike action staggered across the service on different days.

Talks over pay, jobs and pensions remain deadlocked, although the CWU claims there has been significant movement.

But Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier fuelled the flames by claiming Royal Mail staff was paid 25 per cent more than workers in rival post firms.

He added that other companies in the business were 40 per cent more efficient, which is why the Royal Mail wanted a long-term solution to the current dispute to help it compete more effectively.

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Empost plans IPO in second half of '08

Posted by | Jan 3, 2008 | |

State-owned Emirates Post (Empost) plans to sell up to 40 per cent stake to the public in the second half of 2008, a cabinet minister said in remarks published in al-Khaleej daily on Sunday.

The company had appointed advisors to complete a valuation of the its five divisions before the initial public offering, said Minister of Governmental Sector Development Sultan al-Mansouri, according to al-Khaleej.

The valuation would not be less than Dh3 billion (USD 816.8 million), Emirates Business quoted Empost Director-General Abdulla al-Daboos as saying last month.

Empost planned to use the money it raises to acquire logistics companies, financial services firms specialised in remittances and express mail companies in Asia, al-Daboos had said in 2006.

Mansouri, also chairman of the supreme committee for the supervision of the UAE telecom sector, confirmed that the country planned to reduce the amount of royalties the country’s two telecom firms pay to the government.

He did not give details. State-controlled Emirates Telecommunications Corp and du pay 50 per cent of annual profit to the federal government.

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Commercialising postal delivery of mail and cargo

Posted by | Jan 3, 2008 | |

The Indian Postal Department, Tamil Nadu, is seriously exploring the commercial and technical viability of starting airport-to-airport mail and cargo transport via road to address the international mail delivery across India.

According to Indira Krishnakumar, Chief Post Master General, Tamil Nadu, the idea was to connect airports and take care of collection, delivery of mail and cargo between airports.

The Postal Department already has a logistic post service connecting several cities with Chennai.

“We have many surface logistic post services, which operate on a daily basis, like Chennai-Bangalore, Chennai- Madurai and Chennai-Coimbatore. In 2006, we earned a revenue of more than Rs 52 lakh through this service and earned Rs 72 lakh till this November,” said T Murthy, Post Master General, Business Development and Marketing.

The computerisation works of post offices across Tamil Nadu are also progressing.

“We have already computerised all head post offices in the State in the first phase. The second phase, covering computerisation of all sub-post offices, will be completed in another two years. The sub-post offices are classified into three categories and the computerisation works of category A have been finished,” K Balasubramaniam, Director, Technology, India Post, said. 1 USD = 39.4138 INR

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Q-Post was ‘less productive’ in 2007

Posted by | Jan 2, 2008 | |

Q-POST was “less productive” during 2007 in comparison with previous years, Q-Post chairman Ali Mohamed al-Ali has said.

In an interview with Qatar Radio on Monday Al-Ali said that “high inflation” had its negative influence also on the postal sector and “it was the reason behind the drop in the corporation’s performance.”

“Our services to the public were much less than our ambitions,” the official said.
He said that issuance of new stamps “was not everything” in the postal field and the main goal when the corporation was established in 2001 was to present the best postal services to the public.

The official said his corporation needs to re-evaluate the services it provides.
He said: “Talented Qatari nationals are leaving Q-Post for other companies because of the poor salaries they earn here, as the corporation attracts less attention than others at the official level”.

“Our only achievement in 2007 was the issuance of a stamp of Qatar’s rulers,” Al-Ali said and added: “But that was too modest one.”

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Swiss economic minister Leuthard wants postal services liberalised

Posted by | Dec 30, 2007 | |

Swiss economic minister Doris Leuthard said she wants to see the Swiss postal service liberalised.

In an interview with Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, the federal councillor of the department of economic affairs said it is ‘conceivable’ that Swiss Post could become a form of listed company, pointing out that Swisscom AG is today already a listed company.

She added that she would also not rule out the possibility of adopting the Austrian model of a partial privatisation of Swiss Post. A draft on post market reform is to be presented by the department of the environment, transport, energy and communications.

As to whether the federal government should reduce its stake in Swisscom to under 50 pct, Leuthard said the issue will be discussed by the federal council — or the Swiss cabinet — in the coming four years.

‘I think that the Federation should hold a blocking minority stake for strategic reasons,’ she added.

The federal council will also be discussing the issue of sovereign wealth funds in Swiss companies and whether measures are needed to regulate such events, she said. In terms of foreign investments, the council will seek to clarify which companies would be defined as having strategic importance.

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