Tag: Standard Mail

Brazilian government looks at opening capital of the Postal Service

Posted by | Sep 12, 2007 | |

The Brazilian Ministry of Communications is studying the opening of the capital of the national Postal Services as an alternative for modernizing and expanding the company, as informed today (12 september) by the minister of Communications, Hélio Costa.

The minister submitted today to the minister of Finance, Guido Mantega, the proposal for expansion of the Postal Service, of which, according to him, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was already aware.

According to the minister, the establishment of a large logistics company, linked to the state-owned one, would be another alternative for catering to the “huge demand” in the order delivery market. “We are forecasting an increase of over 100 pct for next year. Either the Postal Services will prepare itself, or it will end up losing this market,” he stated.

Another proposal would be the restructuring of the Postal Bank, which currently functions in partnership with privately owned bank Bradesco. According to Hélio Costa, the bank has 5,200 branches, around 5,000 accounts are opened per day, and 10 billion Brazilian reais (USD 5.1 billion) are deposited.

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EU to examine all German subsidies to Deutsche Post in new state aid probe

Posted by | Sep 12, 2007 | |

EU regulators will investigate the German state subsidies of Deutsche Post, once the state-owned postal service, to determine if it bolstered commercial operations with public money, the European Union said Wednesday.

The EU’s executive arm said rivals had complained that Deutsche Post AG used government money to undercut the private sector by selling services “too cheaply” to banking arm Postbank and parcel service DHL – one of the world’s three biggest delivery companies.

Deutsche Post immediately denied any illegal subsidies, calling the investigation “surprising and completely incomprehensible.” Deutsche Post said regulators have reviewed company accounts numerous times.

In Berlin, Finance Ministry spokesman Torsten Albig said the investigation had been expected and expressed confidence the Commission would clear the company in end.

The new investigation comes on top of the EU’s 2002 order for Deutsche Post to repay the German government 572 million euros (USD 791 million) in public money that the company had used to finance a rebate pricing policy for its door-to-door parcel business.
Governments usually pay postal operators to run the costly mail delivery service for the country, but they are forbidden from using the money for other services.

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Letter Carriers Union Ratifies New Five-Year Contract

Posted by | Sep 11, 2007 | |

Rank-and-file members of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year National Agreement with the U.S. Postal Service covering city delivery letter carriers throughout the nation.

The vote for ratification was 104,346 to 11,895 according to Joseph DeRossi of NALC Branch 41, Brooklyn, New York, chairman of a special Ballot Committee that supervised the tabulation.

The tentative settlement, reached by negotiators on July 12, had been endorsed unanimously by the NALC Executive Council.

The contract includes general wage increases of 8.85 percent over the term of the agreement, along with semi-annual cost-of-living adjustments, and new protections against contracting out of letter carrier work by the Postal Service to private firms and individuals.

NALC President William H. Young applauded the 89.8 percent approval vote by the union membership.

The agreement provides a 1.4 percent wage increase retroactive to November 25, 2006; a 1.8 percent increase in November 2007; 1.9 percent in November 2008; 1.9 percent in November 2009, and 1.85 percent in November 2010.

The contract runs until November 20, 2011. The NALC represents all 222,000 city delivery letter carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service in the 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.

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Postal union set for more strikes

Posted by | Sep 11, 2007 | |

The postal workers union has said it will announce further strikes after failing to reach an agreement with the Royal Mail during five days of talks.

Industrial action had been scheduled for last week, but was suspended for last ditch negotiations at the weekend.

According to the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), while progress had been made in some areas, including pay, it was not enough to avert strike action.

CWU members are concerned about pay levels and modernization plans.

The Royal Mail said it was “extremely disappointed” the CWU had continued “to ignore the stark challenges facing the company”.

Since June, the CWU has staged a number of national walkouts in protest at Royal Mail’s offer of a 2.5 pct pay increase and the company’s aggressive modernization plans.

The union claims the shake-up plans will put about 40,000 jobs at risk.

According to the CWU, the Royal Mail has now upped its pay offer to a two-year increase worth 6.7 pct, however the company is sticking to pension proposals rejected by the union – such as increased employee contributions and later retirement age.

But the Royal Mail countered that it had “made it clear” to union officials that their aim was to “protect (our) existing people’s pensions as far as possible and not increase their contributions”.

The CWU also said there has been no final agreement on a number of areas including job security, personnel procedures, automation, productivity and network changes.

Until now, Royal Mail has stood firm against union demands insisting they are unaffordable.

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Postwatch: Meeting of the Counters Advisory Group

Posted by | Sep 11, 2007 | |

The Postwatch Counters Advisory Group convened today (Tuesday 11th September) for the fourth time this year. The group comprises a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in the future of the post office network and the needs of its customers.

The group’s aim is to promote the views, concerns and interests of all consumers and in particular people with disabilities, the elderly, those on low incomes and people who reside in rural areas.

The session enabled Postwatch and Post Office Ltd to update stakeholders on the plans for public consultation and how customers will be informed of proposals. Members recognized the continuing challenges facing the network and will continue their work on post office issues in the coming year.

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