Southern posties await update on major cuts

A decision on the fate of Otago and Southland postal workers is getting closer following the end of New Zealand Post’s workforce consultation period.

Up to 100 postal workers in the southern regions stand to lose their jobs if the state-owned enterprise goes ahead with the proposed cuts of 750 jobs it announced last year.

John Maynard, a national co-president of the Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa (PWUA), said the consultation with affected workers was about the job cuts and the company’s future direction. It took place from February 1 to 29, with an extension to March 15.

NZ Post would have an outcome towards the end of March, Maynard said.

The PWUA had engaged in the consultation alongside E tū.

Both unions expressed concerns about the independent contractor model, which they said would result in migrant and worker exploitation and removed entitlement to sick and annual leave.

Maynard said the proposed job cuts would affect eight to 10 posties in Invercargill, adding that NZ Post had already changed its Gore postal delivery to the independent contractor model. Simon Edmunds, a PWUA Otago-Southland

representative, said the company had used the model to remove full-time postal positions and replaced the hub with a regional contractor who could subcontract others to deliver mail that was processed centrally in Auckland or Christchurch.

When a postie became a contractor, they would not be entitled to any holiday leave or payments or benefits “relating to matters such as sickness, accident, superannuation ... or overtime”, he said.

“They can't claim against the company for any loss or damage to the vehicle. “What that means is that they are like employees, but they have no rights that normal employees would have.”

E tū negotiation specialist Joe Gallagher said: “Essentially, the way we read it, the days of the posties will be over, and all of whatever [mail] volume remains will be put into the courier network.”

Maynard said the company had already “contracted out” some other small towns, which was of concern to the union.

This month, an NZ Post spokesperson did not comment on the number of posties who would be affected in Southland or respond to the unions’ concerns about contractor rights.

Instead, the spokesperson referred The Southland Times to the company’s June 2023 announcement of the proposed layoffs.

“We are not in a position to make any comments while this consultation process is under way. “It is important that we allow our people the opportunity to fully engage with this process while consultation is carried out.” In its submission to the company, PWUA outlined the benefits of employing postal workers. These included fewer redundancy payments, retention of staff knowledge and experience, environmental gains, and seamless mail delivery.

Southern posties had unique concerns relating to health and safety, given climate change, Edmunds said.

“We’re expecting more severe weather, more storms, more extreme rain, all of which are dangerous to people who are out in vehicles or walking, delivering mail.”

In February, NZ Post posted a profit of $7 million for the six months to December 31, 2023. This was well down on $115m for the same period in the previous year.

“We appreciate that the company has difficulty with maintaining its profits with declining mail volumes,” Maynard said.

“The proposal that we’re putting back to the company would save them millions of dollars in redundancy pay.”