Posties’ union calls to cancel fastpost postage increase

Posties’ union calls on NZ Post to cancel next week’s fastpost postage increase

NZ Post should cancel next week’s 50 cent increase in fastpost postage until the company can consistently honour public expectations about its delivery service says the Postal Workers Union. “We want the company to return to delivering all fastpost Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards on the Saturday and not hold some of them over until the Monday,” says union spokesperson John Maynard.

Posties and mail sorters are frustrated and embarrassed to see the date stamps on fastpost letters showing that they may have missed the company’s service delivery promise.

From 1 July the company wants to increase the postage for ordinary size fastpost letters $1.80 to $2.30. Most greetings card postage would increase from $2.80 to $3.30.

NZ Post had deliberately slowed down the delivery of standard letter mail because the company wanted customers sending letters for next day delivery to have to pay extra. The Union was shocked to hear at the time a senior manager’s justification for slowing down mail delivery that NZ Post was “over servicing” its customers.

Since the introduction of Alternate Day Delivery two years ago NZ Post has been steadily downgrading its letter delivery service. This year fastpost letters are no longer being delivered by a “priority postie” on Saturdays to those households which are on the Monday Wednesday Friday delivery cycle. (Households on the Tuesday Thursday Saturday cycle will no longer get priority mail delivered on a Monday.)

The Postal Workers Union has consistently challenged NZ Post’s reductions in service delivery standards including the company ignoring local communities wanting to keep their road side posting boxes.

The Union is well aware of the steady decline in posted letters but believes the company’s actions are less about the economics of letter delivery and more about the ideology of privatisation - privatisation by stealth. The company did not bother to respond to two Union proposals designed to maintain or protect postal services and help protect the company’s financial base.

This month NZ Post has made some changes to its internal processes which will make fastpost delivery less cost effective. The Union is concerned that the company may then use increased costs in its fastpost operations and its subsequent further decline in use as a justification to withdrew its fastpost service entirely.

“Any increase in fastpost postage will also certainly further discourage customer use of fastpost”.

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