NZ Post Profits Show No Justification For Cuts

New Zealand Post is a profitable company and there is no justification for slashing postal services in half, says the union for postal workers, the EPMU.

The call follows the release of the New Zealand Post Group’s annual results this morning, which showed a net profit after tax of $121 million for the year to 30 June 2013.

New Zealand Post has asked the Government to amend its service obligations to allow it to reduce postal delivery to three days a week and replace post offices with self-service kiosks.

In a media statement today, NZ Post CEO Brian Roche said the service cuts were needed to provide “an acceptable return on capital.”

EPMU national industry organiser Joe Gallagher says New Zealand Post’s priorities are all wrong.

“New Zealand Post is a not a cash cow for the Government. It is a vital public service that millions of Kiwis rely on to stay connected to their families, their communities and their customers.

“We recognise New Zealand Post faces serious commercial pressures, but current mail volumes do not justify the drastic and damaging cuts that are being proposed. These cuts only make sense if you believe New Zealand Post exists purely to return a profit.

“We are calling on the Government to listen to communities, keep NZ Post’s social obligations in place and commit to wider public consultation on any future changes.”

New Zealand Post has so far been unable to provide the EPMU with any figures to show how much of the decline in mail volumes is real and how much is simply loss of market share.

The EPMU’s submission to MBIE over changes to the Deed of Understanding is available at: http://www.epmu.org.nz/assets/Post/EPMU-Submission-NZ-Post-2013.pdf

A selection of quotes from the more than 250 public submissions received by the EPMU is available at: http://www.epmu.org.nz/assets/Post/Public-submissions.pdf

ENDS

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