Tag: Europe

Job cuts may be deal breaker in German bank merger

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

Three of Germany’s biggest lenders are mulling a merger that would create a new national banking champion but opposition to losing tens of thousands of jobs as a result could quickly render the plan unfeasible.

Commerzbank and Allianz are making a joint approach to buy the country’s biggest retail lender, Deutsche Postbank, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

A three-way tie-up involving Allianz’s Dresdner Bank unit would be big part of a broad shakeout of the German banking system triggered by a global credit crisis that has prompted massive writedowns and created deep uncertainty about future revenues among the country’s lenders.

Berlin would like to see a second big financial player that could hold its own on the international stage next to top lender Deutsche Bank, government sources have said.

With its nearly 15 million customers, Postbank is seen as a major prize in a fragmented banking market that is two-thirds dominated by public-sector and cooperative lenders.

But combining Commerzbank, Dresdner and Postbank could put 20,000 jobs at risk, services trade union Verdi has estimated.

A top Verdi official and Postbank supervisory board member threatened stiff resistance should Postbank parent Deutsche Post sell its 50 percent stake in the lender.

Financial sources said the German government was pushing to get the sales process moving to get a deal done while it still held a veto right over possible partners, a power it can exercise only until the end of the year.

Germany faces a general election next year, which may add pressure to get controversial bank mergers done quickly.

More than a third of Postbank’s 21,000 staff members are civil servants, a holdover from its history as a state enterprise, in effect guaranteeing they cannot be sacked.

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Postal And Courier Services Market Of Lithuania Up 19.6 percent in 2008

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

According to income received over the first quarter of 2008, the entire postal and courier services market advanced 19.6 percent from this period of the previous year from 52.6 million litas (15.23 million euros) to 62.9 million litas (18.22 million euros).

According to information presented by the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT), the courier services segment increased by 25.1 percent, from 30.6 million litas (8.86 million euros) to 38.3 million litas (11.1 million euros) in and the postal services segment grew by 11.9 percent, from 22.0 million litas (6.37 million euros) to 24.6 million litas (7.12 million euros) from the respective period of the preceding year.

In Q1 this year, the revenues of the company Lietuvos Pastas for postal and courier services increased by 12.6 percent from 23.9 million litas (6.92 million euros) to 26.9 million litas (7.79 million euros) year-on-year. The revenues of other suppliers of postal and courier services advanced 25.3 percent from 28.7 million litas (8.31 million euros) to 36.0 million litas (10.43 million euros).

According to the data of Q1 2008, Lietuvos Pastas dominates on the market in the distribution of postal correspondence – it covers 74.9 percent of sent and 92.4 percent of received postal correspondence market.

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Gordon Brown faces union pressure to save Royal Mail from privatisation (UK)

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

Gordon Brown is being pressured by one of his main union backers to make a fresh commitment to safeguard the Royal Mail from privatisation or risk losing its financial support.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents postal workers employed by the state-owned operator, will vote at its annual conference next week on whether to sever its affiliation with the Labour Party.

If they vote for the move, it would spell the end of a six-figure annual funding source vital to Labour.

It would be a big blow to the party, as donations have dwindled significantly since the cash-for-honours scandal and low opinion poll ratings, and it now relies heavily on union support to cover its debts.

In the first quarter of this year, 88 per cent of the cash donations made to the party came from the unions.

To make matters worse for Labour, the CWU is not the only trade union proposing a disaffiliation motion during the conferences this summer. Similar motions are being put forward by the GMB and Unison, a sign that there is increased dissatisfaction.

Ministers are under growing pressure to consider allowing Royal Mail to raise money from outside sources. But the CWU has told the Financial Times that the commitment Labour made in its last manifesto to keep Royal Mail in public ownership was “one of our core objectives.”

When asked if the union might demand that the Prime Minister renews his pledge in Labour’s next manifesto in exchange for its continued support a CWU official answered: “Absolutely”.

Francis Maude, the shadow cabinet office minister, said: “This shows that trade union barons call the shots. Labour, who are so dependent on trade union funding, are being held over a barrel and this is extremely unhealthy for a parliamentary democracy.”

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The Postal Operator formerly known as Royal Mail (UK)

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

Following an overwhelming rejection of pension reform by staff at Royal Mail earlier this year, and rumour that the government may be considering selling off parts of the business in an attempt to rescue what many now regard as a failed deregulation plan, some inside the union say that the Communication Workers Union is preparing for a full confrontation with Gordon Brown. Timing may be factor here though.

Next week is of course the CWU Conference, and those jostling for a better position within the union will be far more vocal than they might otherwise be, with stirring speeches aimed at raising the profile of branch leaders and just about anyone interested in pushing Hayes off the top of the heap. The more militant end of Royal Mail’s workforce, notably from Liverpool, were furious that having brought Britain’s postal network to a standstill, Hayes was asking union members to accept most of the proposals put forward by Royal Mail bosses and return to work. With it being conference week, CWU leader Billy Hayes is expected to deliver more fighting talk to demonstrate that he still has the strength of character to remain in the job, but not everyone thinks he has. Some are even threatening to turn up at the conference and tell Hayes what they really think of him.

On the other side of the coin, the Labour party depends rather heavily on union money and already effectively bankrupt, the union is likely to push the Labour party against the ropes to try and scupper attempts to part-privatise Royal Mail.

Trying to establish just how much of Royal Mail’s downturn in business is due to the rise in email use, increased competition, or lack of confidence in the wake of strike action, isn’t easy, but postal deregulaton has undoubtedly made things worse. An independent review this year, in combination with input from Postcomm, Postwatch, and rival operators, made it clear that deregulation was having little impact in terms of increased quality and choice for small business and consumers and the prospect of postal companies fighting it out on deliveries is practically zilch.

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