Tag: UK

Subpostmasters agree Post Office pay deal (UK)

The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) has agreed this year’s pay deal for subpostmasters with Post Office Ltd. Agreed at an earlier stage in the year than ever before, the remuneration changes will take effect with subpostmasters’ April 2008 pay.

Subpostmasters will shortly receive a letter from NFSP General Secretary George Thomson and Post Office Ltd Managing Director Alan Cook, detailing the new arrangements.

The NFSP issued a Branch Secretaries’ Circular on the 22nd of this month, giving some initial information on the new remuneration arrangements. NFSP members can access this on the News To Branches page within the members-only section of the website.

NFSP says that Post Office Ltd will then issue a pack containing full details on the new arrangements to all subpostmasters in due course. Members will also be able to download these from the “Pay” section of the NFSP website as soon as they become available.

The forthcoming May edition of The Subpostmaster will also provide further information to members on the pay deal.

NFSP members wishing to enquirie about the forthcoming changes to their remuneration should contact POL’s HR Service Centre or their NFSP Executive Officer in the first instance.

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e-male order: Buying clothes on the net is no longer just for girls

Internet shopping might always have suited the reluctant male shopper – he could stay seated, beer in one hand, keyboard at the other, and shop from the comfort of his armchair at any time of day or night. However, it is only recently that men have outpaced women in their use of online shopping.

Internet shopping might always have suited the reluctant male shopper – he could stay seated, beer in one hand, keyboard at the other, and shop from the comfort of his armchair at any time of day or night. However, it is only recently that men have outpaced women in their use of online shopping.

A survey by management consultants Accenture suggests that most men (56 per cent) today prefer shopping online to the high street, and now premium fashion sites are responding.

“Shopping for fashion online is a new experience for many men – they have to be educated to convert to it and, unlike women, the media hasn’t been busy bombarding them with ‘the new look’ on a weekly basis,” says Ali Khan, founder of menalamode.com, a site set up as a men’s alternative to net-a-porter.com. “Lots of retailers have been reluctant to cater online to the male fashion customer when women have been so ready to buy online. But it’s changing.”

Certainly, internet fashion retail is booming, with, according to market researchers Nielsen, 36 per cent of consumers with internet access having bought clothes, footwear or accessories online in the last quarter of 2007, almost double the figure two years ago. That suggests fashion is second only to books as the most popular internet purchase.

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Post Office launches new Fiveyear Saver

The Post Office announced the sixth issue of its Fiveyear Saver – a no risk, fixed-term deposit bond – which guarantees returns over a five year period with the benefit of further growth potential linked to the FTSE 100-Index.

The Fiveyear Saver offers a dual investment system, which is ideal for investors made cautious by the recent stock market jitters. As a result customers who take advantage of this great offer – which is open from 28th April 2008 and closes on 28th June 2008 – will see their money managed in two ways:

– Half of their deposit earns a very competitive 5.5 per cent gross/AER per annum for the five year fixed term period
– The other half benefits from a 50 per cent return on any increase in the FTSE-100 Index over the five year period. Customers’ original deposits are guaranteed should the FTSE-100 Index fall.

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CWU – Fight Back Over Royal Mail Pension

Following a meeting with senior field officials, the Communication Workers Union is to begin a campaign on the 5th May to highlight what it sees as government and Royal Mail policy failures and the effect that these policies have had on postal worker pensions.

The pension fund currenly has a deficit of around GBP 3.4bn, and Royal Mail plans to clear the deficit by paying into the fund over a period of up to 17 years as well as paying in an extra GBP 270 million this year, an amount it says, that will increase with inflation each year.

The normal retirement age is to be extended from age 60 to 65 with effect from 1 April 2010, pension calculations have now shifted from a Final Salary to a Career Salary Defined Benefit arrangement as of 1st April 2008, meaning that only pension earned in respect of service from 1 April 2008 would be affected by the change. Pension earned prior to this date will still be linked to final pensionable pay on the date the employee leaves or retires. The existing Pension Plan was closed to new members on 31 March 2008.

Two union ballots, one of Royal Mail managers conducted by the union ‘Unite’ and a subsequent ballot of workers, held by the CWU in March, showed an overwhelming rejection of the changes to pensions.

Although both the CWU and CMA/Unite had agreed that changes were needed, the CWU maintains that Royal Mail brought in the revised pension without final discussion with the union and employees and that Royal Mail had not fully explored a options put forward by the union. It now plans to put pressure on government to reverse changes to pensions by writing to and speaking with MPs and political bodies.

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New Start for Parcelforce (UK)

Parcelforce Worldwide is launching a communications campaign with design work by Start Creative, in an attempt to increase the number of businesses setting up Parcelforce accounts.

The designs will be used across all of its marketing collateral including posters, fliers, mail packs and on-line promotions.

Shirley Clancy brand and campaign manager at Parcelforce says half a million packs designed by the London consultancy are being sent out in a mail campaign which targets the business market and is set to run from April through to June.

She continues that the designs are based around the notion of ‘we give you the world’ and include a branded wall map.

Start was appointed to work on the campaign in March after the consultancy took part in a three-way pitch.

The consultancy has an existing relationship with Royal Mail.

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