New Zealand approves 3 days a week mail service

[Son Of God]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/ar ... d=11144967" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand's government has agreed to allow its postal service to deliver mail as infrequently as three days a week to most customers from 2015 as the volume of letters declines precipitously in an era of electronic communication.

The move could foreshadow similar changes in other developed nations as businesses and residents increasingly move online to communicate and pay bills.

The New Zealand Government on Wednesday announced it was changing its agreement with the postal service effective June 2015.

Instead of delivering mail six days a week, the service will be required to deliver a minimum three days a week in urban areas and five days a week in rural areas, which tend to rely more on mail. About 12 percent of customers live in rural areas.

New Zealand Post has been lobbying for the change, saying it was barely breaking even on its mail deliveries and would soon begin losing money unless it was allowed to cut back.

Mail volumes in the South Pacific nation of 4.5 million people have dropped by a quarter in the last decade and the decline appears to be accelerating.

"Around the world postal volumes are declining," said Communications Minister Amy Adams.


"In New Zealand, this is at a rate of about 8 percent per annum."

New Zealand Post spokesman John Tulloch said the new agreement was vital in allowing the postal service to remain viable. He said the service hadn't made a final decision on three day a week deliveries, although given the ongoing volume decline it was a strong possibility.

He said that a move to three-day delivery would be accompanied by a new service under which customers could get their letters couriered six days a week for a premium.

In the U.S., the Postal Service has struggled for years with declining mail volumes. The service has tried to end its Saturday mail delivery but has been met with resistance from federal lawmakers.

In a contentious move in Britain, the coalition government this month privatized the country's 500-year-old Royal Mail. It promised six days a week service would continue.

[Jimbobb]

A sign of things to come here?

[NWpostie]

Count on it, I would say it will come in after 2015.

[db]

Minimum of 3 in urban and 5 in rural, so basically just cutting back in urban areas

[Budfrog]

Update:

http://goo.gl/QnzYwC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More than 1,000 posties and retail staff could lose their jobs after NZ Post got the green light from the Government to move to three-day-a-week deliveries and replace more Postshops with self-service kiosks.

NZ Post yesterday said it had secured agreement from the Government allowing it to move to three-day-a-week letter deliveries from 2015, but rural areas would retain their current services.

Spokesman John Tulloch said the company had 2,200 delivery staff. However, he dismissed suggestions that halving the delivery days from six would see that workforce also halved.

"That would be overestimating it. It wouldn't work like that because there's that six-day-a-week premium service we want to provide. Any number would be speculative at this stage."

Union spokesman Joe Gallagher said the change to outlets allowed under the new Deed of Understanding with the Government meant job losses were likely among the 900 retail staff as well as posties.

"There could be a 25 to 30 per cent reduction," said Mr Gallagher, postal industry organiser for the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU).

NZ Post chief executive Brian Roche confirmed the eventual job losses could exceed 1000.

Communications Minister Amy Adams said the reduced delivery days would help ensure the postal service remained viable. NZ Post has been signalling the need to make changes to its delivery services in the face of plummeting letter volumes.

She said minimum service levels for rural areas would be maintained because "the reality is that in the rural and urban areas the dynamics are different and it's much harder to maintain a viable postal business on a three-day-a-week basis than in the rural areas".

Ms Adams said without the move to three-day-a-week deliveries in urban areas, NZ Post "would be looking to the Government for subsidies that could well be in the range of £18.58 million a year or more".

The minister was criticised by the EPMU, which claimed she misled it in a letter on Tuesday about the changes. "It's not good enough for the Minister of Communications to claim 'negotiations are still ongoing with New Zealand Post' and the next day announce she is giving them everything they've asked for," Mr Gallagher said.

Ms Adams said the decision was signed off by the Cabinet on Monday but the announcement's timing was finalised only yesterday morning.

"I don't see why the union would think we would tell them before we told NZ Post."

Townies to get mail just three days a week from 2015, but rural services won't charge

Are you bothered by NZ Post cutting mail delivery days in the cities?

11750–11800 votes

Yes, it's a vital service 28%

A little bothered, but I'll get used to it 30%

No, I hardly ever get snail mail anyway 42%