NZCTU Media Release

12 March 2013

Message to NZ Post must get through

The Council of Trade Unions says the NZ Post must give genuine consideration to options that keep postal services at the status quo as well as to other options forwarded by submitters in its submission on proposed changes to the NZ Post deed.

Eileen Brown, CTU Policy Analyst says "we need NZ Post and the government to give active consideration to reinstating New Zealand Post as a monopoly pro-vider for letter delivery, or that a levy is placed on other postal operators to support our international legal obligations requiring governments to pro-vide essential services that may not otherwise be provided. The post, and a regular, reliable service for all New Zealanders is part of this obligation."

"We don't know the full impact that reduced postal services will have on older people, people who are vulnerable socially and economically, rural communities and lower-socio economic groups. We need to undertake research and assessment on the impact of reduced postal services on these vulnerable groups before changes are made that will put them at risk," said Eileen Brown.

"It is very important that the two unions representing postal workers are formally involved in the review of postal services and a tripartite structure formed to explore all the options to address challenges facing postal services from falling mail volumes and the impacts of increased digital technological communication," concluded Brown.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>