Friday, April 27, 2012
NZ Post wants to cut delivery days from 6 to 3 a week
Further evidence that this organisation is going from bad to worse comes with this latest revelation.
Last June in its cost cutting it closed the Post Office on the Terrace in Wellington, in the middle of one of Wellington's business streets and reduced the number of hours that mail is sorted into the private boxes by 60% - and did it refund those who had pre-paid a full year of full service? Of course not. The shop area is still vacant so NZ Post is paying rent for unused retail space - are we surprised? Of course not.
Now it wants to cut delivery services for everyone from six days a week to three so it can reduce staff numbers. The government needs to agree first, as there is a 1998 deed requiring the state-owned agency to run a six-day-a-week postal service for 95% of New Zealanders. NZ Post's chief executive Brian Roche told Radio New Zealand that "the service is unsustainable as people increasingly use email for immediate communication." Reducing the number of delivery days would enable staff cuts, Mr Roche said.
"If New Zealand Post did nothing to change its processing and delivery systems, [annual] losses would start at $10 million, balloon to over $20 million the next year and keep on growing."
We have commented before on this truly awful organisation and the above thinking is pure narrow bean-counter stuff. We think it should be privatised now so that it won't lose any more value for the taxpayer.
Not sure if we watched the same news bullitin on this one but I think 3 showed how the increase of parcels through internet sales aka trade me, is seemingly compensating for a drop in letter revenue.That said I agree, privatisation is now the only step left. Walking into the new 'revamped' ha ha Waikanae Post shop today I did not know whether to sit down on the so called seats or were they there for kiddies to play with as some sort of toy?. Talk about Mickey Mouse land . The staff were helpful but its not an attractive shop despite the well needed size it now has -presumably for kiddies to play in whilst Mums and Dads visit the supermarket!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Waikanae Postshop is already a 'franchise' private business selling NZ Post and Kiwibank on commission. Maybe the owners have a thing for funky decor.
ReplyDeleteThere can be bad management in private enterprise too, but at least it will only cost shareholders and not taxpayers.