Tag: UK

Start of consultations on post office closures

Posted by | Oct 2, 2007 | |

Today is the starting day for the first public consultations on post office closures. The Government has charged Post Office Ltd with closing up to 2,500 post offices throughout the UK (500 of which will be replaced by ‘outreach’ services).

Kent, East Midlands, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire are the first affected areas, with 180 proposed closures and a further 35 existing branches proposed to be replaced by outreach services. Consultations for these areas finish on 12 November. Postwatch will be active during consultation scrutinising Post Office Ltd’s proposals, and ensuring customers give their comments. Our final views will be available on our website at the end of consultation.

Every part of the UK will be affected by the program, and Postwatch urges customers to find out when local consultation will take place in their area, and to get involved.

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UK Post Office Chairman defends stance

Posted by | Oct 2, 2007 | |

Post Office Chairman Allan Leighton has defended his tough stance over striking postal workers and plans to close up to 2,500 post offices over the next year.

Tough talk from Allan LeightonSpeaking to Sky News’ Jeff Randall on Jeff Randall Live, Mr Leighton said it was all about modernization.

“We’re a business that’s now in a commercial world, we’ve got real competition, we’re not a monopoly any more and we can’t keep going back to the tax payer and asking for money, that’s the one thing we don’t want to do.

“We’re relatively inefficient compared with our competitors… our competition has been doing what we should be doing for 10 years.”

When asked if he was prepared to compromise, Mr Leighton said a deal had to be done in the interests of the company.

“This is about the future of the Royal Mail… it is at a tipping point… the Mail’s business is under intense pressure and we’ve got to build a company for the future.”

Meanwhile, public consultations are starting on plans to close the post offices next year.

Customers in Kent, East Midlands and East Yorkshire will be asked for their views on proposals to close 180 branches in their areas.

It would start a period of “huge change” in the post office network, said consumer watchdog Postwatch.

“Closures are not good news for customers, but the current post office network is unsustainable,” said Chairwoman Millie Banerjee.

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Europe’s post faces law of the jungle

Posted by | Oct 2, 2007 | |

UNI-Europa Post & Logistics has condemned the decision by the Council of European Union Ministers meeting in Luxembourg to go ahead with total de-regulation in the postal sector by 2011/13.

Without clear provisions to fund the universal postal service and without secure provisions in the new directive to protect wage dumping, UNI-Europa Post & Logistics warns that post faces the law of the jungle.

Ministers agreed to full market opening of postal services by 31 December 2010 and for 11 member states by 31 December 2012. The 11 exceptions are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
This is in line with the decision taken by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 11 July.

The Council’s common position is due to be finally adopted at a forthcoming meeting after the second reading of the directive in the European Parliament.

Protection for some mail services, which have allowed traditional operators to cross-subsidise services to rural, mountain and island communities will disappear.

The question of financing the universal postal service obligation will be up to individual member states with the risk of adding extra burdens on taxpayers.

Individual governments and regulators will now be the focus of union pressure to ensure funding for a universal postal service and to strengthen directive provisions to prevent unfair competition.

Unions want common employment and social standards build into regulations and operating licenses to stop wage dumping and head off the replacement of decent jobs by precarious work.

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Pall-Ex Director Recognised as a Mentor for Women of the Future

Posted by | Oct 2, 2007 | |

Hilary Devey, MD of Pall-Ex is a known force throughout the UK for inspiring women in the workplace. Now one of Mrs Devey’s Senior Management Team, Tony Mellor, has received a prestigious accolade in recognition of this shared vision.
Hilary’s entrepreneurial idea to begin a pallet network over ten years ago came as a shock initially to an industry dominated by men. Her business ideas and gender broke the mould for the transport industry and lead to the creation of an enterprise which now celebrates over ten years of success.
Now the award winning company Hilary created which employs male and female lorry drivers, and male and female fork lift truck drivers has been recognised independently yet again for inspiring women in the workplace. Tony Mellor, Commercial Director of Pall-Ex, has been inspired by Hilary’s example to encourage young women of potential, and his work has gained him a shortlisting as a finalist in the Women of the Future Awards. The category for which Tony has been recognised is entitled ‘Mentor of the Year’, a title which Mr Mellor well deserves for his efforts. Tony joined the company as Marketing Manager in 2004, and his skills and experience were soon recognised, the more potential he showed, the more responsibility he was entrusted with. He now overseas numerous departments, including direct management of 3 Executive level women of great potential for the future.
Tony has to undergo one more round of judging, before a gala awards ceremony to be held in London in November.

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Motorola Announces Integrated GPS Functionality for Market-Leading MC70 Enterprise Digital Assistant

Posted by | Oct 2, 2007 | |

Motorola Inc. today introduced a new version of its flagship MC70 mobile computer, featuring integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) capability. This new option of Motorola’s fastest-selling rugged mobile computer will allow organizations with field-based employees, such as postal companies, to track and manage dynamic, real-time tasking, as well as verify specific locations of activities and provide mobile workers with pinpoint navigation support to improve location-based productivity.

The MC70 has been widely embraced for its lightweight, ergonomic design and ability to withstand the rigors of everyday use in harsh environments. Protected against a variety of environmental risks, including frequent drops to concrete, and exposure to water, dust and extreme temperatures, the MC70 is optimized for both indoor and outdoor applications.

With over a quarter of a million MC70 devices being used by mobile workers each day, this device is already allowing enterprises to seamlessly connect their workers to their back office systems leading to increased productivity and customer service. Now with new location capabilities, Motorola’s MC70 is once again connecting people and products to information resources, and transforming businesses – making them more efficient and responsive to customers to gain a competitive advantage

The MC70 EDA delivers flexibility and global coverage with converged voice and data capture. Utilizing SIRF III technology, the MC70 GPS-enabled EDA will continue to provide feature rich functionality including barcode data and signature capture in addition to wide area connectivity with support for high-speed EDGE networks, wireless 802.11a/b/g networks and Bluetooth.

The GPS-enabled MC70 will be showcased in Barcelona at Post Expo 2007 and at the IT Convergence Show in Paris in October 2007. The MC70 GPS version will be available for sale worldwide in the first quarter of 2008.

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