The threat of the first national mail strike for seven years has evaporated after postal workers narrowly rejected calls to take industrial action over pay. In an embarrassing reverse for union leaders, members of the communication workers union (CWU) voted by a majority of fewer than 2,000 against staging a series of walkouts.
Read MoreState-owned mail agency New Zealand Post announced a 24% rise in after-tax profit to $27.1 million for the year ended June 30.
Operating revenue rose by 1.9% to $976.9 million compared with the previous year, expenses held steady at $922.8 million, and NZ Post paid a total dividend of $16.2 million to the Government, up from $13.1 million the previous year.
Read MoreAgainst the opposition of Deutsche Post AG, EP Europost has defended its application to use the brand name TPG Post Deutschand. The Patent and Brands Office in Munich has decided that private postal service providers are alloweed to use the term post in their name.
Read MoreNOTE – THIS ARTICLE/PRESS RELEASE NOT RE-ISSUED OR ADDED TO WEBSITE/ME-NEWS AS RESULT WAS A NO VOTE.
In view of today’s announcement of the results of the CWU ballot for industrial action over the pay dispute with Royal Mail, Triangle is re-issuing the results of a survey of major mail users (initially released on 29 August). We believe that the voice of the mail user should be heard in this debate.
Triangle Management Services Limited (the leading specialist consultants to the mail industry) has interviewed a sample of Royal Mail’s leading customers and has found that they all believe any strike action should lead to some period of immediate deregulation. The majority (over 70%) of the top users interviewed, who collectively spend around £400 million a year on post, say that if there is industrial disruption then private carriers should be allowed to collect and deliver indefinitely not just during the period of any strike. All would prefer to pay the current Royal Mail tariffs but over 40% would be prepared to pay more – some up to 50% more than they are currently paying. Almost 90% of those interviewed said that a strike (if it lasted more than a month) would have a significant, major or catastrophic effect on their business.
Read MoreDeutsche Post, the German postal service operator, has indicated that it is not fundamentally opposed to plans by the EU to impose VAT on stamps with the planned deregulation of the EU postal market in 2009. The company has not yet decided whether it will increase prices when VAT is introduced.
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