POSTAL NEWS
No 23-2020
Formulated by UNI AproPost and Logistics Sector
|
1. bpost:
feeling the effects of this exceptional situation on its activities. March 19, 2020.
2. CWU: postal workers can play a crucial role in keeping this country connected. March 18, 2020.
3. Implementation
of additional measures against the coronavirus: certain Swiss Post branches
will open later than usual today. March 18,2020.
4. PostNL to continue delivery of mail and parcels.
March 16,
2020.
5.
EAL
keeps supply chains moving. March 13,
2020.
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1. bpost: feeling the effects of this exceptional situation on its activities
March 19, 2020
bpost has announced it is
temporarily suspending the sending of letters and parcels outside Europe due to
the mass cancellation of flights.
The organisation said:
” Protecting the citizens and our employees, while continuing to provide
an essential service to the general population: these are our priorities as a
public company serving the community.
.
“bpost
continues to be committed to carrying out its universal postal service missions
as best as it can, with to the support and engagement of its thousands of
employees on the streets, at sorting centers and post offices, and elsewhere.
“Like
all the world’s postal operators, bpost is feeling the effects of this
exceptional situation on its activities. Every day, bpost adapts its measures
to meet the expectations of its customers while protecting the health and
safety of its employees.
“The
cancellation of many flights by airlines companies has prompted many postal
companies in recent days to announce the suspension or delays in the sending
and distribution of letters and parcels to non-European countries. This is
among others the case for Denmark, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Norway and Sweden.
“Equally
impacted by these cancellations, bpost is forced to suspend, from this
Thursday, March 19, the sending of letters and parcels to destinations outside
Europe. The intra-European flows may also be impacted and be affected by
delays.
“bpost
is closely monitoring the developing situation in the quest for alternatives.
Citizens
and our Belgium business clients are meanwhile invited not to post letters and
parcels for destinations outside Europe.
“Likewise,
to reduce the risks in our post offices, bpost encourages everyone to limit
their visit to post offices for only urgent reasons and to use the alternatives
available according to their needs: red mailboxes for mail, parcel dispensers,
cash dispenser for withdrawals and deposits of money.
“bpost
would like to thank all of its customers for their understanding in these
exceptional times.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/120122/news/e-commerce
2. CWU: postal workers can play a crucial role in keeping this country connected
March 18, 2020
The Communication Workers Union has revealed that 94.5 % of its members at Royal Mail
voted in favour of industrial action however the trade union has appealed
instead for the postal service to become the 4th emergency service in the UK
amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The Union said that
since voting began two weeks ago, COVID-19 was “changing the language of
priorities for our members and the country.”
A union statement
said: “In recognition of the fact that Royal Mail Group is the only service
that connects every address in this country via its universal service —
something our dispute is seeking to protect — we have made a proposal to the
company based on putting the interests of the nation first.
“We want the public
we serve, the government and shareholders to know that we want to set aside our
differences with Royal Mail and, subject to prioritising the health and safety
of our members, we want postal workers to become an additional emergency
service in the UK.
“We
believe this could really help the country in these unprecedented times.”
“Postal workers are embedded in every community in the
UK. They are trusted figures. They are part of the social fabric of society.
“It’s time to utilise
the companies’ unrivalled infrastructure and daily reach across every city,
town, village and rural community, remembering that for a lot of people the
only person they will see every day will be their local postal worker.
“With this in mind we
have called for Royal Mail Group to step back from their attacks in the
workplace, imposing unagreed changes and destroying the very morale and
vocational sense of purpose the nation now needs, and work with the union to
enact our proposal.”
The union said that
postal workers would “become an additional emergency service” during the
pandemic.
“Postal workers can
play a crucial role in keeping everyone in this country connected and informed,
delivering medical aid, checking on the elderly and vulnerable, delivering
local mail to local services and supporting people working from home.”
The union said that postal
workers could assist with foodbank collections and deliver food parcels to
people in need.
It said: “In any
national emergency in our history and in our day-to-day existence, the
universal postal service has played a vital role.
“These unprecedented
events remind us all that postal workers always come through and will stand
ready to serve the nation again, but Royal Mail Group must play their part by
agreeing our proposal and ensuring the very best standards of safety and
support to its employees.”
The union has sent
its proposal to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and plans to meet with management
tomorrow.
Shane O’Riordain, Managing Director of Regulation, Corporate
Affairs and Marketing, Royal Mail, said: We welcome and appreciate CWU’s statement this afternoon
that now is not the time to take industrial action. We contacted CWU last week
to work together to protect our people, our country and our company. We are
talking to them about how we can do that together.
“The postal service is a key part of the UK’s infrastructure at
this time. We are delivering, as usual, to communities across the country. The
delivery of parcels and letters is a key way of keeping the country together
and helping many people who may not have the option to leave their homes.
“As the coronavirus crisis has developed, we have worked with CWU
to formulate and implement the appropriate sick pay and absence policy for our
colleagues. We jointly agreed the policy and communicated it to our colleagues
last week. Colleagues, including those with less than one year’s service, will
receive full pay in relation to any coronavirus illness or self-isolation. We
have made adjustments to our parcel handling procedures to protect our
colleagues and our customers.
“We are ready to discuss CWU’s proposals for future strategic
business opportunities. Our negotiating team is ready to continue the dialogue
to agree a framework to try to find a resolution to the current dispute. We are
meeting soon. We want to reach
agreement. “
Source : https://postandparcel.info/120062/news/parcel
3. Implementation of additional measures against the coronavirus: certain Swiss Post branches will open later than usual today
March 18,2020
Following the
Federal Council’s decision to declare an “extraordinary situation” in
Switzerland, Swiss Post Executive Management has decided as part of an initial
series of measures to equip all Swiss Post branches without closed counters
in such a way that
social distancing can be ensured between branch employees and customers.
Certain Swiss Post branches will therefore be temporarily closed this morning.
Social distancing is the most effective measure to protect against
infection, and is one of the FOPH guidelines being followed by Swiss Post.
Branches with open customer counters will be adapted as an additional immediate
measure.
Certain Swiss Post branches will therefore be temporarily closed
this Wednesday morning. This will enable us to provide better protection for
our employees and our customers against the coronavirus.
We would like to thank our customers for their understanding. The
measures implemented today are designed to protect our employees and to
safeguard everyone’s health.
4. PostNL to continue delivery of mail and parcels
Extra measures to maintain safe and sound working environment
March
16, 2020
The
Hague, 16 March 2020 – Connecting with and paying attention to others are more
important than ever in the extraordinary circumstances of this moment.
Continued delivery of mail, parcels and other shipments is one of the crucial
ways to make sure daily life can continue as much as possible. Home delivery
enables people to stay at home and ensures that companies can reach their
clients. PostNL is committed to ensure delivery, together with its employees,
customers and partners. It will take additional measures to ensure continuity
of the universal service obligation and delivery of funeral cards and medical
deliveries.
HernaVerhagen, CEO PostNL: “We feel great
responsibility towards society and all of our stakeholders to ensure continuity
of our service and our business. We are doing everything we can to guarantee
the universal service obligation and the delivery of parcels in a responsible
manner. I’m very grateful for the commitment and hard work of our people,
working in close cooperation with our clients and partners to deliver their
shipments as on any given day. Ensuring a safe and sound working environment
for them remains our first priority.
Signature on hand scanner not required for now
As an adjustment to our normal delivery
procedure, consumers for now are no longer required to leave their signature on
a handheld scanner to confirm successful delivery. Instead, the parcel
deliverer will note the last three characters of the ID at the moment of
delivery. As always, consumers can follow the delivery of parcels in the PostNL
app and in the track&trace information on PostNL’s website.
More time to deliver the mail and other measures
We are currently in the process of extending
the window for mail delivery and taking other measures that will allow our
people to take care of their children during the day if they can’t go to
school. Working from home is the rule for those who can. Additional measures
are being taken for people working in our operation to ensure a safe and sound
environment and to limit the risk of spreading the virus.
If and when circumstances require changes to
our service, we will provide further information via the usual communications
channels.
Source: https://www.postnl.nl/en/about-postnl/press-news/press-releases/2020
5. EAL keeps supply chains moving
March 13, 2020
Eastern Airlines Logistics
(EAL) has been keeping supply chains moving as flights get suspended due to the
coronavirus outbreak.
The subsidiary of China Eastern Air has operated 10 flights
per day, increasing capacity and cargo volumes for four consecutive weeks in
February.
By the end of February, outbound cargo increased 30%
year-on-year and return volumes were up 50%.
Flight cancellations have significantly reduced freight
capacity, with EAL subsidiary China Cargo Airlines putting a Boeing 747
Freighter back into operation.
Cargo aircraft and the luggage compartments of passenger
aircraft have carried more than 3,000 tons of epidemic prevention materials and
138,000 tons of equipment to restart global supply chains.
EAL’s cargo aircraft have covered 40 international and
regional logistic sites including Chicago, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Frankfurt,
Singapore, Bangkok, Osaka, Tokyo and Seoul.
Daily outward volumes have increased 60% to 946 tons and
return volumes are up 54% to 816 tons.
Customers include US car makers who saw their transport link
with a major auto parts supplier cut off.
The manufacturer handed over 600 tons of auto parts to EAL
for transportation, with six charter flights to the USA being planned for the
first quarter.
Outbound flights included 70 tons of materials landing in Karachi
to help Pakistan respond to coronavirus and a locust plague.
POSTAL NEWS
No 24-2020
Formulated by UNI AproPost and Logistics Sector
|
1. USPS to transition to new platform to replace WebEx
for teleconferencing.March 19, 2020.
2. Retailers beef up delivery networks as shoppers rush online. March 18, 2020.
3. FedEx
suspends 2020 profit outlook; coronavirus and turnaround pressure weigh.
March 18, 2020.
5.
New
Zealand Post changes delivery process in response to Covid-19. March 16,
2020.
6. Japan Post
plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs. March 23, 2020.
|
1. USPS to transition to new platform to replace WebEx for teleconferencing
March 19, 2020
The Postal
Service is transitioning to Zoom, a new teleconferencing platform that will
eventually replace WebEx, the organization’s current online meeting tool.
Zoom offers reliable, user-friendly online video
conferencing and teleconferencing.
“Our goal is to reduce in-person meetings and emails in
favor of personalized video meetings,” said Chief Information Officer Kristin
Seaver. “This will drive closer collaboration and better meeting outcomes.”
Beginning in March, all USPS computer users can participate
in Zoom meetings they are invited to attend.
USPS computer users who have been approved as WebEx
schedulers in eAccess can automatically schedule Zoom meetings. These users can
access the new platform through Outlook.
If prompted to sign in to Zoom, users should select the
“Sign In with SSO” button on the right, not the blue “Sign In” button in the middle of the screen.
After July 31, WebEx will no longer be available, and users
will be unable to access meetings and recordings stored on WebEx.
2. Retailers beef up delivery networks as shoppers rush online
March 18, 2020
Australia's national postal service and major retailers are
putting new measures in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, as more
and more housebound Australians turn to online shopping.
A spokesperson for Australia Post said the company was
confident it would be able to keep up with any spike in delivery demand, noting
there was "plenty of capacity in the network". The government-owned
company pointed to the Christmas period, when it experienced its busiest month
in history, with 40 million parcels delivered in December, as an example of its
capability.
However, the business
is putting in place other measures to make online shopping safer and easier for
Australians staying indoors. Parcels will no longer require a signature for
delivery or collection, with drivers or post office staff instead able to sign
on a customer's behalf and leave it at the door.
Major supermarkets
Coles and Woolworths have both reined in their online delivery and
click-and-collect options for groceries, with Coles suspending the service
nationally and Woolworths.
Both companies said last week they had seen an unprecedented
and significant increase in online orders as increasing numbers of Australians
work from home and self-isolate due to the virus.
To combat this, the two are currently hiring additional
fulfilment workers to boost online delivery capabilities, and Coles has put the
call out for another 60 delivery drivers. Woolworths, which uses third-party
delivery partners, said it was "working closely" with them to
increase the number of drivers in its network.
Last week, it also took the unusual step of recruiting
around 20 head office staff to help stack shelves and pack orders in its online
distribution centres.
Outside of groceries, analysts have predicted a bump in
online sales across the broader retail sector.
Online electronics and home goods retailer Kogan recently
warned customers it was experiencing a high volume of orders across Australia
and New Zealand, saying delivery times could be affected.
A spokesperson for the e-tailer said its most popular products
in recent times included smart TVs with inbuilt streaming, freezers, computer
monitors, standing desks, laptops and home office furniture, as working
Australians kit out their home workstations.
EBay Australia managing director Tim MacKinnon said he
expected to see an increase in shoppers coming to purchase from eBay, and that
the retailer had already seen a run on items such as health products, video
games, books and cleaning products.
"We expect, as retailers see offline traffic decrease,
even more will set up a channel through eBay," he said.
"We also think we’ll see more Australians use eBay to
sell from home as you can list and ship items without having to have contact
with the buyer. People may start eBay businesses as a way of generating income."
Australia Post said it was currently seeing international
delivery delays due to the coronavirus, but was "working with partner
airlines and other postal operators to move items as quickly as possible".
While online demand in the current and coming weeks may hit
unprecedented levels, analysts are predicting enthusiasm for online grocery
delivery will persist after the virus is contained, with Morgan Stanley saying
it could lead to a fundamental shift in behaviour.
"We see this global surge in online grocery adoption
changing consumer behaviour as the extent to which people realise the
ease/convenience of shopping for groceries/consumables online over the next few
weeks/month should lead to more long term online grocery purchasing," it
said.
Source :https://www.smh.com.au/business
3. FedEx suspends 2020 profit outlook; coronavirus and turnaround pressure weigh
March 18, 2020
U.S. package delivery
company FedEx Corp (FDX.N) suspended its 2020 profit outlook on Tuesday,
citing the “significant impact” of the coronavirus, and said it would cut costs
due to the uncertainty wrought by the pandemic.
Even so, the company
reported quarterly revenue that beat market expectations as more businesses
turned to its international express plane service to safeguard their supply
chains as COVID-19 illnesses and deaths mount around the world.
Shares in FedEx
surged as much as 5% before falling 0.5% to $94.50 in after-the-bell trading.
“The reaction to
their release is a bit like driving looking through the rear-view window,” said
Trip Miller, managing partner at Memphis-based Gullane Capital Partners. “There
wasn’t much in there for me to feel positive about FedEx or anybody else in the
next 60 days.”
FedEx joined
Denmark’s DSV Panalpina (DSV.CO), a major transportation and logistics provider,
in suspending profit forecasts due to unprecedented business disruption from
the virus.
FedEx, which
benefited from President Donald Trump’s corporate tax cut, submitted a request
to the U.S. government for “liquidity support,” Chief Financial Officer Alan
Graf said on a conference call with analysts.
The package delivery
company’s adjusted net income dropped 53.5% year-over-year to $371 million, or
$1.41 per share, for the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 29. Revenue rose about
3% to $17.5 billion.
Analysts on average
expected earnings of $1.41 per share and revenue of $16.89 billion, according
to Refinitiv IBES data.
The company - whose
rivals include United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and Amazon’s
homegrown delivery operation - was grappling with the integration of its TNT
Express unit, higher costs related to launching Sunday home delivery, and the
loss of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) as a customer before the deadly virus outbreak
began.
Executives see
opportunity in surging e-commerce spending as governments in Europe and the
United States urge people to hunker down at home to reduce the spread of the
virus. Rampant international passenger flight cancellations already have been a
boon for the lucrative express business at FedEx, they said.
“It’s like Christmas right now on the express side. They’re
moving all sorts of supplies and equipment,” said Dean Maciuba, a director at
Logistics Trends & Insights.
FedEx is attacking costs by restructuring the company to
move more express packages through its ground network, Maciuba said. But it
still lags UPS, whose integrated express and ground network is more efficient.
“I do believe it’s a turnaround story, but it’s going to
take forever,” said Maciuba, adding that it could take up to three years to get
FedEx margins back to 7-8% from less than 3% today.
Miller, of Gullane Capital, noted that FedEx’s stock is
trading at roughly the same level as 15 years ago. “The top 5 executives, plus
the board, have made $870 million over the last 15 years, while shareholders
have made nothing,” he said.
Source : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-results
4. Covid-19: untenable situation at La Poste!
Following the last meeting with La Poste, we find that our
employer is not taking firm measures to meet the health situation we are going
through.
The observation of a lack of application of national guidelines at
the local level leads us to deplore this governance problem which is
particularly sensitive to the Courier Parcel Service (BSCC) branch. It is
surprising, to say the least, that a state-owned public enterprise is dragging
on to apply government measures.
Given the number of reports of catastrophic situations, indecent
remarks, inappropriate managerial acts, FO Com requires:
·
The list of postal activities
defined as necessary in the continuity of the maintenance of the essential
links of the Nation.
·
Strict application of
government-imposed measures, including all barrier measures
·
The cessation of all work
reorganization projects initiated before the health crisis. The entire
managerial community has a duty to prioritize the health security of staff over
the maintenance of activities.
The government imposes strict rules, La Poste must be obliged to
respect them nationally as well as locally, and this, in all areas, including
travel.
Also, FO Com can only advise all postal workers to
protect themselves, by taking the appropriate initiatives to preserve their
health, their colleagues and those around them.
Local and national FO Com activists remain mobilized in support of
postal workers. At the same time, FO Com solemnly addresses the CEO of La
Poste.
Source :http://www.focom-laposte.fr/
5. New Zealand Post changes delivery process in response to Covid-19
March 16, 2020
The company is making a temporary change to
how it delivers parcels to enhance the safety of its people, and to ensure NZ
Post continues to offer an essential service, delivering what Kiwis care about.
NZ Post CEO David Walsh says keeping NZ Post
people safe, and communities connected through delivery services are paramount
during the Covid-19 situation.
“While the overall risk of transmission of
any virus is very low in our day to day business operations, it’s the right
thing to do to limit close physical contact with others during this time. This
is consistent with the Government’s advice,” David Walsh says.
“NZ Post plays a special role in New Zealand,
providing an essential service and maintaining connections within our
communities during this time of uncertainty. The changes to delivery will help
maintain our excellent service performance which is important given more people
might choose to get essential items delivered to their homes in the coming
weeks.”
The changes come into effect from today and
will be reviewed regularly. Mail delivery will continue as normal.
Delivery of Signature
Required Product
NZ Post couriers
(including CourierPost, Pace and Rural Delivery) will knock on the door as
usual and step back two metres (or as far back as safe). They will wait for the
occupant to come to the door and greet them as usual. They will then ask for
the recipient's name
and leave the
parcel in a sensible place for the customer to pick up when the driver leaves.
If no one comes to the door and there is no Parcel Leave service in place, they
will follow the standard process which is to leave a card and return the item
to depot.
Delivery of Non-Signature
Required Product
NZ Post couriers
will knock on the door as usual and step back two metres (or as far back as
safe). They will wait for the occupant to come to the door and greet them as
usual. If no one comes to the door they will follow the standard process which
is to leave the item in a safe place or card it and return to depot if no safe
place.
For other services, NZ Post will be working
to minimise physical contact as much as possible while ensuring its usual
quality customer service.