Tag: Europe

TNT offers talks while postal workers strike

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

Postal company TNT has invited postal workers’ unions to meet on Friday in an effort to end the impasse over their wage demands.

The invitation comes on the second day of a new series of industrial action, which began on Monday 19th May in The Hague and affects Nieuwegein.

TNT hopes the unions will attend the meeting to try and break deadlock. The CNV union says it would be impolite to turn down an invitation.

Postal workers want a rise of 3.5 pct in wages this year. TNT is offering 1.5 pct this year and another 1.5 pct in 2009.

A 30-hour general strike is planned for May 28.

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TNT invites unions to restart wage talks

Posted by | May 20, 2008 | |

TNT NV said on Tuesday it would invite unions to restart wage talks in a bid to avert a countrywide strike next week.

“We have listened carefully to our employees and see room for negotiations,” a TNT spokesman said, adding that if the unions accept the invitation, talks would start on Friday.

TNT workers are demanding a 3.5 percent wage rise retroactive to April 1 for a one-year period.

TNT has offered a 1.5 percent increase retroactive to April 1 and another 1.5 percent rise on Jan. 1, 2009, conditional on changing employment conditions.

TNT argued its workers are already paid 20 to 25 percent more than market rates. It had originally sought a pay freeze, in a bid to cut costs and compete better with rivals.

TNT is targeting cost savings of 395 million euros (USD 615 million) between 2007 and 2015.

The unions have been holding rolling industrial action in different parts of the country, that will culminate in a countrywide strike planned for May 27 to back their demands.

The company, which is expected to lose its monopoly in the domestic market, has said that without changes to employment terms, it may have to cut up to 11,000 jobs from its Dutch workforce of 59,000.

The government said on Friday it would postpone the opening of the Dutch mail market due to uncertainties over a level playing field in Germany and labour conditions at home.

TNT has steadily lost market share to rivals Sandd and Deutsche Post’s Selekt Mail.

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Postcomm hold open meeting on postal strikes (UK)

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

On 14 May, Postcomm held an open meeting ‘After the Postal Strikes’ to hear evidence on Royal Mail’s application for suspension of the ‘c factor’ adjustment (restrictions on the level by which Royal Mail can raise prices if service quality is not met) and the bulk mail compensation scheme, following industrial action last year.

Postwatch presented a number of areas in the application which Postcomm should investigate further, including whether:

– the whole of quarter 3 (from 3 Sept to 2 Dec) should be included in the application.
– recovery periods, following industrial action, within the application are reasonable.
– claims for unofficial industrial action should be included.

Postcomm have invited further written evidence by any interested parties on the impact of industrial action and Royal Mail’s application to be submitted by the end of May.

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Bulgarian Posts set for massive restructuring

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

Bulgarian Posts will be restructured into a holding of six shareholding companies, which will draw on the public private partnership model, and will appoint a second executive director to represent the interests of attracted strategic investors, a copy of the corporate restructuring strategy, leaked to Dnevnik daily reads.

The company’s executive director Entseslav Harmandzhiev has already briefed the leaders of Bulgarian trade unions about the plans.

According to the strategy, restructuring would be implemented by October 1. It will result in the formation of the companies Finance Post, Bulpost/EMS, Post Trans and Trade, Bulgarian Philately, Hybrid Post and Post Tourist. All companies will attract strategic investors and will be forming public-private partnerships.

Bulpost / EMS will take over the courier postal services business, both inbound and outbound. Finance Post will be in charge of financial services (postal cash transfers and cash collection). Hybrid Post will offer utility payments. Post Trans and Trade will tackle logistics and commercial activities, whereas Bulgarian Philately – the business with envelopes and stamps.

The sixth company, Post Tourist, will operate the vacation sites owned by Bulgarian Posts. This type of activity is an attempt to diversify the range of Bulgarian Posts services. Currently, the holding owns seven holiday sites worth a combined 20 million leva. They are located in Golden Sands, SS Konstantin and Elena, in Bankya, Pancharevo, Ravda, off Batak dam and Apriltsi village.

None of the six shareholding companies will be dealing with the universal postal service, letter distribution. According to the Postal Services Act, Bulgarian Posts EAD is obliged to offer the universal postal service nationwide at low prices. According to Harmandzhiev, it would be operated by the parent company Bulgarian Posts.

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Customers ready to pay for first class post (UK)

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

Residential customers would rather pay a premium for next-day postal delivery than see standards fall, according to Postwatch.

In its latest evidence to the independent review of the impact of competition on the postal market, the consumer watchdog said users were opposed to any move away from the one-price-goes-anywhere service.

Under the terms of the universal service obligation, Royal Mail has to offer one delivery a day to every address in the UK, six days a week. The way this is paid for became a pressing issue this month when Royal Mail estimated the service made a loss of about GBP 100m last year.

Postwatch chair Millie Banerjee said today: “Postwatch is a keen supporter of a sustainable universal postal service which meets the needs of senders and receivers.

“We are acutely aware that declining mail volumes and the recent announcement by the Royal Mail that the UPS has become loss making gives customers real cause for concern about the future of the service they value.”

Included in Postwatch’s submission are the results of research carried out on its behalf among residential customers, small businesses and bulk mailers.

The research found that while the existing universal service obligation met users’ needs, many said some areas could be improved, including reliability and speed of delivery. Residential customers wanted deliveries six days a week while businesses were unconcerned whether they were made five or six days a week.

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