Australia Post has been criticised for their latest money grab – a leaked plan to slog customers with a fee for not picking up undelivered parcels at post offices.
CEPU Communications Division National Secretary Greg Rayner said Post was shifting responsibility onto the customer while continuing to penny pinch by contracting out delivery services.
“Parcel delivery is a boom business for Post, and should be at the heart of their future growth as a company,” Mr Rayner said.
“Post should be building a first class parcel delivery service, but instead of making this part of the business stronger, they are still overseeing a system reliant on underpaid and overworked external contractors – not Post employees – to deliver parcels that turn up late, or not at all.
Mr Rayner said that customers relied on advice from Australia Post about when a parcel will be delivered and plan around that information.
“Customers take time out of their days to wait for a parcel, and when it doesn’t turn up, or they receive an attempted delivery card for packages when they were home waiting for the ring of the doorbell, then it isn’t always fair or practical for them to have to attend a post office if the contractor failed to knock on the door,” Mr Rayner said.
“Post needs to get their own house in order and make sure that their contractors are paid fairly and the delivery system is adequately resourced before they start punishing customers for holding parcels when they have little control over being able to get to a post office during restrictive opening hours.”
NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Jim Metcher said that if Post persisted with this course of action, then the money should be reinvested in better retail services.
“While we don’t agree with slugging the public with the charges, our members are at times working under duress in post offices with inadequate storage facilities because of Australia Post’s penny pinching,” Mr Metcher said.
“If Post intend to go ahead and introduce the charges then the funds should be allocated to improving and upgrading its retail facilities.”
Media contact Richard Mehrtens 0434 956 362
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