Letters delivery cut, but not jobs

AUSTRALIA Post will deliver letters in metropolitan areas every second day well into next year, under a deal struck between the government-owned corporation and its workers’ union.

The deal was struck so the postal service can better manage the impact of COVID-19 on postal flows.

In a win for workers, the memorandum of understanding signed by the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) and Australia Post will see no forced redundancies before August 9, 2021.

The agreement will see letters in metropolitan areas delivered every second day until June 30, 2021, with posties previously on daily runs redeployed to deliver parcels.

Parcel volumes have surged during the coronavirus pandemic, exacerbating the decline of letters as a proportion of the company’s revenue mix.

In 2019, revenue from postal and parcel services grew 7.7 per cent to $4.8 billion, while revenue from letters delivery fell 8.9 per cent to just over $2.2 billion, with that division losing just over $190 million.

In the first half of the past financial year, letters revenue fell a further 9 per cent and the division lost $87 million.

The CEPU had opposed the proposed changes to letters delivery, saying Australia Post’s management was using the pandemic as an excuse to slash up to 2000 jobs.

CEPU national president Shane Murphy said the new agreement would protect the jobs of more than 33,000 postal workers.

“This agreement will ensure no posties are removed from the delivery employment mix — something we have fought hard for — protecting jobs and improving parcel delivery services to our communities,” he said.

Australia Post chief Christine Holgate said the changes were an important step in future-proofing postal deliveries.

“No posties will be removed from the delivery service, and we have been encouraged by the strong response from people wanting to move across to parcel delivery,” she said.

Australia Post delivered a profit before tax of $41.1 million in 2019 from revenue of $6.99 billion.