Tag: Domestic

Royal Mail delivers new blow to workers

Posted by | Sep 25, 2007 | |

A last minute change of plan by Royal Mail still means more than 300 postal workers in Reading face redundancy.

Royal Mail announced a new GBP 20 million plan to modernize postal services last Friday which will see mail centre’s in Swindon and Gloucester remaining with Reading and Oxford closing down.

The new plan spells a reprieve for the Gloucester Mail Centre and an unexpected blow for workers in Oxford.

But the plan has always envisaged the closure and sale of the Reading Mail Centre in Caversham Road in January 2009 to pay for a massive redevelopment and technological upgrade at the Swindon site.

Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) branch letters secretary Wayne Levy, based in Reading, said he would be seeking an urgent meeting with bosses to get an explanation for the change.

Reading East MP Rob Wilson said: “I have done everything I can to save the jobs in my constituency, including arranging a meeting with Postal Services Minister Jim Fitzpatrick for all parties involved.

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Royal Mail may axe final salary pension scheme

Posted by | Sep 25, 2007 | |

Royal Mail is braced for strike action as it proposes to axe its final salary pension scheme for existing as well as new employees, according to a trade union.
Union Unite, which represents 12,000 Royal Mail managers, said that it expects the postal company to unveil plans to close the scheme to new and existing staff, and to take away GBP 1.5 billion of benefits. Unite said that in a meeting today Royal Mail confirmed the plans to the union.
A spokesman for Royal Mail refused to comment on the details of the proposals, saying: “It’s something we want to talk to our staff about first before giving a steer outside the company.”
Royal Mail is expected to inform employees of the proposed changes this week. Unite, which referred to the plans as the “great mail robbery” is involved in ongoing talks with the postal company.
Unite said that plans included raising the retirement age from 60 to 65, and from April 1 2008 replacing the final salary pension scheme for existing staff with a career average scheme.
Paul Reuter, national officer at the Union, said: “We call upon Royal Mail to honor their commitment to preserve the past services benefits that have been built up and paid for by our members.
Royal Mail is already facing two 48-hour walk-outs next month by members of the Communication Workers Union, over pension changes and pay.

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GBP 720m in unused foreign currency brought back to UK

Posted by | Sep 25, 2007 | |

The Post Office is offering returning holidaymakers the chance to donate their leftover foreign coins to national charity Help the Hospices.

Collection boxes are now on the counters of 600 Post Office branches across the UK – allowing holidaymakers to get rid of unused foreign coins and raise funds for charity at the same time.

New figures out today from Post Office®Travel Services reveal that over GBP 720 million was brought back to the UK last year in leftover foreign currency.* When asked what they did with the cash, less than three in ten holidaymakers (29 per cent) actually changed it back into pounds sterling and just under a quarter (23 per cent) said they put it to good use on their next holiday.

Of the rest, nearly a third of people (30 per cent) simply stashed leftover foreign currency at home unused. One in 50 said they planned to use the money on a next holiday but could not find it when the time came. Just three per cent said they had donated the leftover cash to charity.

The foreign coin collection is the latest initiative in the three-year partnership between Royal Mail Group and Help the Hospices, which has raised over GBP 1.1 million since it began in March 2005.

The Post Office is the largest bureau de change provider in the UK with a 25 per cent market share. Customers can buy euros over the counter at over 7,000 “on demand” branches and a selection of other currencies at 1,400 branches. All 14,000 Post Offices offer a next-day currency collection service.

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Trade with China is boon to industry of logistics

Posted by | Sep 24, 2007 | |

The huge wave of trade with China and other countries that has washed over ports in Southern California has been a boon to companies that once saw themselves simply as small warehouse and distribution businesses.

Processing and distributing millions of freight-laden containers through the region and to the rest of the United States has become the largest source of jobs on the West Coast. But the overall growth in the industry is raising new challenges, as California regulators demand reductions in air pollution in the port areas and larger companies raise the pressure on smaller businesses.

Small to medium companies exemplify the logistics industry, a fast-growing business of warehousing, trucking and freight forwarding on the cutting edge of technological and social trends, from Internet commerce to evolving Latino markets. Their businesses have grown along with the ports in Southern California, which now handle 44 percent of the merchandise imported to the United States, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Formerly a business of thousands of trucking and storage outfits, logistics has become a giant industry in the past decade as international trade has grown. U.S. Commerce Department statistics show that the value of imports and exports reached almost USD 3 trillion in 2006, up 67 percent since 1999. At USD 900 billion in annual revenue, logistics now accounts for some four million jobs across the United States. It is the largest single source of employment in Southern California, at more than 650,000 jobs, according to the economist John Husing, of Redlands, California, an authority on regional industry.

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Schenker of Canada to Launch New Courier Services Division

Posted by | Sep 24, 2007 | |

Schenker of Canada Limited today announced the coming launch of its new Courier Division with Kathy Kropf at the helm as Director. The Courier Division will officially launch later in Q4 of this year.

Ms. Kropf brings many years of logistics and transportation expertise to her new role. Most recently, she was Managing Director, Canadian World Wide Sales at FedEx Canada. As Director of Schenker’s new Courier Division, Ms. Kropf will plan and oversee the completion of the company’s offering in this critical part of the market.

Schenker’s Courier Division compliments the company’s growing suite of solutions for its customers. Combined with its strong credentials and partnership with Canada’s leading courier companies, which facilitate end-delivery, Schenker will provide a complete door to door transportation and logistics service. With the recent integration of BAX Global now complete, Schenker provides solutions for skid and package shipments. In fact, Schenker is the only company offering trans-border, domestic and international service with both heavy weight and courier integrated services.

From 1995 to 2007, Ms. Kropf held progressively more responsible positions with FedEx Canada, culminating in her Managing Director role which she held for over four years. Working with many Fortune 500 customers, Ms. Kropf was directly responsible for the strategic planning, execution and performance of the Canadian World Wide division. Prior to that role, Ms. Kropf was employed with FedEx Ground and Roadway Express.

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