Tag: Domestic

French postal workers gain 2.5 pct pay rise

Posted by | May 6, 2008 | |

La Poste and trade unions CFDT, CFTC and CGC have agreed on a new pay and working conditions deal comprising a general increase of wages by 2.5 pct for the company’s 116,397 postal workers.

The two sides have signed an agreement splitting the general increase of wages for employees into a revaluation of 0.5 pct on May 1, 2008 and an increase of 2 pct on July 1, 2008. Managerial wages will be individually revaluated respectively by 1 pct-2 pct on July 1, 2008.

In addition, the general increase will be accompanied by adjustments to lower wage levels and a 2.3 pct revaluation of the “Complement Post” bonus on July 1, 2008. La Poste also agreed to invest EUR 150,000 in promotion of salary equality for men and women, and to provide a EUR 2 million subsidy for staff jointly travelling to work.

George Lefebvre, Managing Director of La Poste and Manager Human Resources and Social Relations, said: “This agreement is in line with a wider policy to improve the staff’s situation and to share the benefits of growth.”

Read More

Royal Mail strikes caused by modernisation changes (UK)

Posted by | May 3, 2008 | |

Royal Mail, in it’s application to the Postal Services Commission for relief from the impact of Industrial Action, said that a number of factors had caused a drop in quality of service in 2007 but the underlying cause was industrial action brought on by essential changes to make the business more efficient. It said the changes formed part of the loan it had secured from government to modernise the business.

The application timetabled the impact of events caused by national, rolling, and wildcat strikes but said that it was not possible to “identify every small event that contributed to the wider degradation in quality of service during the year as a result of work to rule and go-slow activity”.

It said that settling the industrial dispute on unsatisfactory terms had not been an option and in finding a solution to the dispute, the transformation of Royal Mail and the funding secured by government had to be protected as much as the long term interests of Royal Mail and it’s customers.

Royal Mail said that as well as industrial action over pay and conditions, it had also experienced industrial action over delivery office closures which again, were part of an overall plan to make the business more efficient. In addition, the new EC legislation relating to 56mph driving speed restrictions for 7.5 tonne vehicles, which became law in January 2008, required the restructuring of Royal Mail’s network operations and duty patterns in delivery, resulting in changes to the start time for over 100,000 delivery postmen and women. It said the CWU had used the changes as both a bargaining and propaganda tool during the dispute.

Read More

Royal Mail to Explain Why Quality of Service Dropped

Posted by | May 2, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has been requested by Postcomm to demonstrate that industrial action last year, which saw mail pile up in delivery and sorting offices, was wholly the result of transformation plans, and that the industrial action only had caused a drop in quality of service. Royal Mail will present its case at an open meeting on May 14th.

Major stakeholders in the postal market have been invited to this event and given the opportunity to ask any questions they have about Royal Mail’s application; this will help ensure Postcomm has appropriately considered the views of all interested parties before it makes its decision.

In June 2007, Postcomm agreed Royal Mail’s request to suspend – until the end of the financial year – the payment of compensation to bulk mail customers, and to earn revenue that it would not otherwise be permitted to do (due to the ‘C factor’), where industrial action has taken place and quality of service figures have dropped.

Postcomm agreed to the request because it wished to ensure that Royal Mail was not discouraged from taking the steps needed to modernise its business – such modernisation would be to the benefit of all mail users.

Postcomm decided that prior to making any decision it would convene an open meeting at which Royal Mail would present the main points in its application. For it to be satisfied, Postcomm expects

Royal Mail has recently asked Postcomm to suspend the Bulk Mail Compensation Scheme and adjust the value of the C factor in the event of industrial action related to transformation activities in 2008/09.

Read More

Royal Mail goes to court over zonal pricing decision (UK)

Posted by | May 1, 2008 | |

Postcomm received summons that Royal Mail intends to seek a judicial review of the regulator’s decision to reject the company’s recent ‘retail zonal pricing’ application.

Postcomm say the initial application was received in February 2007, studied with great care, and consulted on widely, at Royal Mail’s request. Postcomm rejected the application because it put forward a pricing structure that appeared to have a number of discriminatory features and would have been introduced in a way that would lead to unreasonable changes for its customers. It is now for the court to determine the merits of the case.

Postcomm has not ruled out any future moves towards retail zonal pricing for products outside the universal service should Royal Mail propose an alternative approach that avoids the problems presented by the recent application. Postcomm is generally supportive of pricing that is more reflective of costs.

Read More

Nigeria: New Postal Law Underway – BPE

Posted by | May 1, 2008 | |

The director of information and communication in the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Dikki, has revealed that the postal policy and new postal legislation are near completion after both documents were subjected to extensive stakeholder sensitisation.

Making the observation at an interactive meeting last Tuesday, between the Bureau and organised labour on the postal sector reform and the restructuring of NIPOST, Dikki said, “on completion, the final postal bill would be sent to the Ministry of Information and Communications which would forward it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

He listed the objectives of the postal reform including; “to grant the postal sector sufficient autonomy to run its own affairs; guarantee all segments of the population access to universal service; provision of quality services which support the Universal Service Obligation (USO); separate between operators, regulator and policy makers; ensure an open, liberalised market with equal opportunity for all competitors; guarantee economic viability of the public postal operator; ensure that the population had access to services according to the technological evolution of the postal service; and ahieve quality standards similar to best international practice.

A statement issued yesterday by the head, public communications, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, stated that Post Master General, Alhaji Ibrahim Mori Baba, pointed out that his organisation welcomes the envisaged reforms as it is hoped they would strengthen service delivery in the postal sector.

The representative of the minister of Information and Communications, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozika Okeisaibo, explained that the ministry is committed to a smooth restructuring of the postal sector.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest