The company paid a total of more than GBP 12 million last year for customer complaints ranging from loss and delay or letters to rudeness from staff.

Customers made 1,439,245 complaints last year and in total 555,416 of them received compensation.

Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "Ninety per cent of small businesses rely on the Royal Mail. If goods are delivered in a poor state, or do not arrive at all this rebounds on the business."

A spokesman for the company said: "The complaints equate to about one for every 15,000 letters and packets posted out of the 20 billion items Royal Mail handled last year.

"They covered a range of issues in a year when there was a prolonged period of industrial action, but quality of service has since improved with the large bulk of mail now being delivered at target levels or above." Source: The Telegraph

Triangle Link: Mail & Express Vacancies

The U.S. Postal Service has extended early retirement offers to letter carriers as part of an expanded early-out offer that now covers 156,000 employees.

Rural and city carriers are included in a new group of employees eligible for voluntary early retirements. Other employees in this group are postmasters, field-level supervisors, maintenance workers and motor vehicle mechanics.

In the past month, USPS announced early-out offers to two other groups of employees as part of a larger effort to reduce and restructure its work force. The first covers about 72,000 mail handlers, clerks, distribution operations supervisors and customer service supervisors. The second group includes 3,200 headquarters employees.
With this latest round, approved late last week by the Office of Personnel Management, the Postal Service has extended offers to virtually all occupations within the Postal Service, said Anthony Vegliante, the agency’s chief human resources officer.

Vegliante said it’s the first time since 1992 that the Postal Service has offered early retirements to letter carriers, who comprise the bulk of the agency’s 670,000 employees.
The offers apply to employees who are at least 50 years old with at least 20 years of service, or those with 25 years of service regardless of age. No financial incentives nor bonuses will be paid to employees who decide to retire. Source: Federal Times

Deutsche Post AG may decide to call off a sale of Deutsche Postbank AG at a supervisory board meeting on Sept. 12, Handelsblatt reported, without saying where it got the information.

A previously targeted price for the Bonn-based bank of 10 billion euros (USD 14.6 billion) is now unrealistic, according to the German business newspaper. Deutsche Post has become more skeptical about a sale because of the drop in the valuation of banks, it added.

Bonn-based Deutsche Post, Europe's biggest mail carrier, owns 50 percent plus one share of Postbank, which has a market value of about 7.3 billion euros. Source: Bloomberg
Triangle Link: Postal Benchmarking Group: Launched

Correos, the Spanish postal operator says that flexible working has seen an improvement of 7.85 points on its quality of service for delivery times from the end of 2006, the date at which it began to apply its new revenue model. Based on stable employment and quality, the postal operator delivered 64 pct of ordinary mail by the following day compared to 56 pct in 2006.

Flexibility including a mix of permanent and semi-permanent staff which allows staff to transfer to other departments or take time out, has enabled Correos to raise staff levels during busy periods. Over the summer, Correos employed 1,700 staff on a fixed-discontinuous basis to help on foot and motorcycle deliveries and as a result made Correos far more efficient. Correos is one of the biggest employers in Spain with more than 63,000 employees

Correos favours a decentralized, agile and more dynamic management of human resources and says it can pay off for staff too who join on this basis, enabling the postal operator to evaluate new recruits as well as new employees getting a feel for the job. According to Correos, those entering the service in a fixed-discontinuous role, then have opportunities to move to a permanent contract or transfer. Around half of those starting at Correos do just that and the arrangement allows Correos to make the best use of it's workforce. Source: Hellmail

La Poste’s Board of Directors approved the Group’s financial statements at 30 June 2008.

The March 2008 sale of the airline company, Europe Airpost, was the main change in scope during the half. This sale meets the Group’s objective to withdraw from the air transport business to give priority to its portfolio of strategic activities. Group turnover amounted to EUR 10.556 billion.

The Group’s strategy is based on the complementarities of its business, Mail, Parcel-Express, Financial Services and La Poste Retail Brand, which let it diversify its risks. Consequently, the sustained growth in Parcel-Express and Financial Services activities were able to partially offset in the 1st half the larger than forecast impact on the Mail business of the economic slowdown and the increase in fuel and fluid prices.

The Group confirms its goal to continue its development in growing markets in each of its three business sectors. Therefore, in the 2nd half 2008, it will seize all acquisition opportunities likely to fulfil this goal under satisfactory asset conditions while being careful at the level of its debt ratios, which remain high in its current equity level context. Source: La Poste

The CWU (Communication Workers Union) sets a precedent in trade union communications on Sunday 31st August, with the broadcast of its own channel entitled CWU TV on Sky Digital channel 167 and Freesat channel 406.

The 30 minute programmes, presented by Emma Howard, ex-BBC news
presenter, cover a range of news, features and opinion in fresh and
fast magazine style. The first programme focuses on pensions, the
liberalisation of the postal service and the union's youth movement.
Billy Hayes, general secretary, is also interviewed in-depth and offers
the CWU's perspectives on the importance of trade unionism in a
changing world and less certain economic climate.

With CWU TV the union is putting TV at the heart of an integrated
communications strategy that informs and engages the membership and
encourages them to give their feedback and get involved. Information TV
allows the CWU to broadcast unmediated public service content on the
trusted, regulated medium of television. Source: TMCnet

Triangle Link: The Mail Show

In the first half of the year, Latvia Post (LP) posted LVL 1.253 million in losses, which is 5.3 times less when compared to the first six months of 2007, when the postal company was LVL 6.681 million in the red, LP's general director Ivars Krauklis told members of the press.

Krauklis explained that since February of this year, when the company's new board began work, the company has stabilized its financial situation and has implemented measures in achieving the company's strategic goals.

In the first six months of the year, compared to the first six months of 2007, the company has increased earnings by 39 percent. For LP to continue to improve its financial situation, LP has developed not only transparent delivery tariffs, but has also simplified it business cooperation with publishers.

1 US Dollar (USD) = 0.47973 Latvian Lats (LVL) Source: The Baltic Course

France's La Poste aims to raise up to euro3 billion (USD 4.43 billion) through a capital increase to finance its development ahead of the opening of the European postal industry to full competition in 2011, the state-controlled mail carrier's chief executive said.

La Poste, Europe's second largest mail carrier with annual sales of euro20.8 billion (USD 30.7 billion), plans to launch the capital hike in 2010, via either a sale of a stake in its capital to one or more institutional partners or a public offering of shares to retail investors and employees, Jean-Paul Bailly said at a news conference.

La Poste must first negotiate a change in its legal status from state-run enterprise to limited liability company, which is planned by the end of 2009, Bailly said.

"This morning I informed the board of directors of a plan to rapidly propose this project to the government," Bailly said. La Poste needs approval from the government to go ahead with the plan.

In a statement, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the government would make a decision in the coming weeks.

Bailly said it was "premature" to say what share of La Poste's capital would be sold to investors, or to speculate on the company's valuation. French press reports last month suggested the company could be valued at around euro10 billion (USD14.8 billion) and that a 20 percent stake could be sold. Source: Forbes

CTT Correios de Portugal announced a growth of 14,9 pct , an amount of 31,6 million euro of net profit, in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period of last year.

The consolidated operating revenue of the group in 2007 rose by 4.1 pct reaching 427.1 million euro. All business areas contributed to this positive variation, standing out the CEP segment by means of the ctt expresso and tourline express, which had a variation of 9.6 pct. The evolution of the company mother was also positive (+3 pct).

The global quality indicator reached at the end of the semester a performance of 188,2 compared to 138,8 at the same period in 2007. The increase of this indicator shows the commitment of the workers and the effort of the organization in improving operational procedures. Source: Correios Portugal

Citing "current market conditions", Emirates Post has postponed an initial public offering (IPO) that it had planned for this year, a top executive said yesterday (27th August 2008). "We were planning to launch an IPO this year, but we have now delayed our plans looking at the current market conditions," Emirates Post Holding Group President Abdullah Al Daboos told Emirates Business in a telephone interview.

"We will see how the market performs in the next two quarters and then decide on the timing. It will most likely happen next year." Emirates Post Holding Group, the holding company of Emirates Post, will appoint a consultant to rework overall group strategy, Al Daboos said. Consulting firms on the shortlist are McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group and Booz & Company.

"We will appoint one of them in the next two weeks; they will then work on revising our internal strategy and on whether to go public or not," said Al Daboos.

The group is also planning to apply for a banking licence, Al Daboos had told this newspaper earlier this year. Abu Dhabi-based Al Qudra Holding on Tuesday said it had shelved plans to offer its shares to the public. Source: Zawya

Swiss Post achieved a good result in H1 2008. With net income of EUR 265 million the result was EUR 51 m or 16.1 pct below the record figure of the year-back period. Swiss Post International - Swiss Post's international unit - generated operating income of EUR 327 m, which was EUR 28 m below the year-back period. The reason for this was due mainly to the current currency situation. SPI is nevertheless likely to contribute to the Group profit of Swiss Post in 2008.

Swiss Post International (SPI), which operates in the international mail, parcel and express business, posted a good operating result again in the first half of 2008. The performance was not quite as good as that in 2007, however. SPI generated operating income of EUR 327 m in the first half. This is EUR 28 m below the year-back figure. SPI lost around EUR 6 m as a result of transactions in foreign currencies, which were converted at a lower rate than in mid-2007. The result from translation of amounts due from international partners was also around EUR 21 m lower.

Most SPI subsidiaries were able to lift their operating income again compared with last year. SPI intends to continue along its growth path in the next few years with a number of ongoing projects in sales and with additional acquisitions. SPI is thus driving the steady expansion of its international network. Already at the beginning of 2008 SPI acquired the Swedish letter processor IMS Europe AB. Source: Swiss Post International

Austria Post will refrain from closing more branches to support the sales of Bawag P.S.K. Bank, the country's biggest by customer outlets.
Austrian Post, which last year bought a 5 percent stake in Bawag, serves the bank's customers through its post offices and earned 92 million euros (USD 135 million) from the business in 2007. The Vienna-based postal service has reduced its network by 44 percent since 2001 to make itself more profitable.
``Bawag has 240 branches, we have 1,300,'' Chief Executive Officer Anton Wais said during a press briefing in Alpbach, Austria, last night. ``If we close branches, we hurt Bawag's sales, and therefore our investment of about 80 million euros in the bank.''
A group led by New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP bought Vienna-based Bawag in May 2007 for 3.2 billion euros. The group includes the Austrian unit of Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Austrian Post and private investors.
``Cerberus is likely to sell its stake in Bawag in 2012,'' Wais said. ``As we are a minority shareholder we will probably have no choice but to sell as well. It makes no sense to close branches and diminish the profitability of our investment.''
Ties between Post and Bawag date from 2000, when Bawag bought P.S.K., the bank that belonged to the postal service. Source: Bloomberg

The Spanish postal operator Correos this week launched a new international express postal order service that will enable money to be fast-tracked to Uruguay. In time, the system will be able to transfer money to Chile and Morocco.

The service is the result of an agreement signed by the Correos and Uruguayan Mail during the 24th Congress of the Postal Universal Union (UPU) that was held in Geneva. The international urgent postal order is already operative in 60 offices of the Uruguayan Mail but it now means that money can be transferred back and forth in the space of 15 minutes, and a significantly reduced cost to that offered by other money transfer services.

The service uses the International Financial System (IFS), designed by the Center of Postal Technologies of the UPU, designed to create a trustworthy and sure network for the transference of money by electronic means between the postal operators. It also fulfills a commitment of agreement of cooperation signed by the UPU and the Government of Spain in December, 2007 with the aim to introduce direct transfers to South America and the North Africa, through the network international financier of the UPU. Source: Correos

The Seventh Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union (CUPU) was expected to be approved by China's top legislature in a week.

The seventh additional protocol, the seventh revision to the CUPU, is in accordance with the Chinese legal principle, read a statement submitted to the fourth session of the 11th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation on Monday.

The ratification of the seventh additional protocol will benefit the postal service in China in the global changes of economy and technology and enhance cooperation between China and other countries and organizations, the statement added.

The contents of the seventh additional protocol, which was done in Bucharest on Oct. 5, 2004 and came into force on Jan. 1, 2006, included articles concerning the missions of the union and definitions of some terms and some literal revisions to the CUPU.

China joined the CUPU in 1973 and ratified the previous six additional protocols in 1973, 1977, 1987, 1991, 1997 and 2003 respectively. The seventh had been approved by 33 member countries till July 4, 2008. Source: news.xinhuanet.com

The postal department saw a good response from clients in the first one month of working as the principal agent of Western Union in Bangladesh.

The department started the service from July 13 this year. It is now operating special counters in 12 post offices in the city and 438 others throughout the country so that people can easily collect remittances sent from abroad.

The post offices that are operating as Western Union points in the capital are Dhaka General Post Office (GPO) and post offices at Sadarghat, New Market, Mohammadpur, Gulshan, Banani, Basabo, Tejgaon, Shantinagar, Khilgaon and Uttara.

According to GPO sources, they are receiving around 5 to 10 clients of Western Union in their counter every day.

When the postal department announced its collaboration with Western Union in January, a good number of people expressed scepticism about the department's ability to maintain the quality of service.
The postal department signed an agreement in January with the Western Union to deliver money transferred by the global money transferring company as part of a reform programme to help the financially ailing department reach break-even point by 2009.

The designated postal offices will run the special money transferring desks for the next 5 years. Usual fees are collected by the Western Union while the postal department receives 25 percent commission from the money-transferring organisation. Source: The Daily Star