Postal News from around the world

1.                    The Manchester Evening News has reported that "Union bosses are stepping in to sort out problems which postal workers fear will bring Christmas deliveries to a grinding halt. Workers at the Wardley sorting office, which serves Walkden, Swinton, Boothstown and Little Hulton, claim they are struggling to deliver mail under a new regime and have called in their union leaders to mediate. New working practices are being rolled out across the country, which staff at Wardley sorting office, on

Shield Drive

, on the Wardley Industrial Estate, say is stretching the system to breaking point."

2.                  Post & Parcel has reported that "Russian Post has increased staff wages by 7% during the first nine months of 2010. For the entire year, Russian postal employees will enjoy a rise of up to 12%, it has been reported."

3.                  Havana Times has reported that "The Cuban Postal Company decided to temporarily suspend the sending of postal packages to the United States, where only regular and certified correspondence that does not contain any type of object will be able to be sent. The measure comes after the announcement of exceptional security measures taken by the US Postal Service in the face of recent terrorist threats in that country, limiting the reception of packages that weigh over 16 ounces, reported IPS."

4.                    Japan Today has reported that "The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has decided to carry forward bills to roll back postal privatization measures."

5.                    According to the Daily Mail,, around three Post Offices are closing down every week in U K  and 900 could disappear by next year, shocking research revealed yesterday. The massive number of closures is a major embarrassment for a government which has repeatedly promised to protect the network. Since January, 161 Post Offices have hung up the ‘Closed’ sign, with many saying it is simply impossible to make enough money to continue trading. The list of closures, seen by the Daily Mail, shows branches are shutting up shop everywhere from remote Scottish islands to the north Cornwall coast. In all cases, they are listed as ‘long-term temporary closures’, which means Post Office Limited is trying to find a new sub-postmaster. But the Communication Workers’ Union yesterday insisted that was ‘a code for closed’ while the company ‘can still claim there are no closures’. In most cases, a sub-postmaster decides to retire, and the struggle to find a replacement proves impossible. Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU, said Post Offices are closing at ‘an alarming rate’, and predicts the number could hit 900 between April 2010 and April 2011. He said: ‘Post Offices are closing at an alarming rate but don’t register until it is too late because they are misleadingly classed as temporary closures.’ It comes after a savage programme of closures masterminded by Labour which saw Post Offices disappear in their thousands. In 1997, there were 19,000 in Britain. By 2010, there were just under 12,000. Since coming to power, Edward Davey, the Postal Affairs Minister, has repeatedly promised: ‘There will be no programme of closures.’  Yesterday he described the figures from the CWU as ‘misleading’, and said they failed to take into account the fact that the closures may be temporary.

6.                    Voice of Vietnam News has reported that "The 17th ASEAN Post and ASEAN Post +4 summits is being held in the Furama Resort in the central city Da Nang from November 25-27. The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Office of PosMalaysia, Dato Syed Faisal Albar is presiding over both summits. Attending the 17th ASEAN Post summit are representatives from the postal departments of 9 ASEAN countries. They are discussing ways to enhance electronic transactions in the region and around the globe, the projects hopes to develop electronic commerce within ASEAN and international electronic money transfers. Attendants to the summit are also focusing on proposals from the private sector and developing new projects in the field of postal finance and marketing strategy for the express mail service and electronic commerce."

7.                    Royal Mail this week announced it will be discounting new or additional direct marketing campaigns throughout March and April next year by as much as 20%, to encourage advertisers to try new direct mail tactics. Mark Thomson, Media Director at Royal Mail, said: "Direct mail is back, pure and simple. It has regained its position as the consumer’s favourite direct marketing channel because people love to receive well targeted, well crafted advertising mail. "And for the advertiser, direct mail’s ROI is performing better and better and the discounts in this sale will help them to benefit from its increasing power even further."

8.                    The BBC has reported that "The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) has outlined plans for Jersey Post to face more competition. It has set out goals of developing a more competitive telecoms market, liberalising postal services and working more closely with Guernsey. The JCRA has decided to grant another postal license to TNT Post UK, to ship items for the mail-order industry."

9.                    Radio Netherlands has reported that "Workers at Dutch postal company TNT are staging a national strike for two days starting Thursday morning. This comes after approximately 8000 postal workers rallied in The Hague last week to protest TNT plans to retrench 3100 staff. Although there is no plan for a rally this time, some 500 postmen are meeting to follow the current debate in the Lower House about the effects of last year’s liberalisation of the Dutch postal market. A petition urging the cabinet to intervene and protect TNT employees will be handed to Social Affairs Minister, Henk Camp, just before the debate."

10.                 The National Association of Major Mail Users has reported that "Canada Post has introduced Canada Post Comparison Shopper, a one-stop shopping website that helps Canadians instantly find, compare and purchase products online. The site uses a ranking system that filters through over 4 million products from 500 well-known and respected retailers that actually sell to Canadians. The patent-pending system evaluates criteria like price, return policies and customer service to determine which retailer offers the best match for the consumer’s search."