Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa
News media statement
24 February 2014

Postal Workers Union calls on New Zealand Post to immediately reverse its policy of holding mail back

New Zealand Post has been called on by the Postal Workers Union to immediately reverse its policy of deliberately holding back standard mail which has been processed and ready for delivery. As it releases its six monthly report and explains that the company is reducing expenditure, New Zealand Post's mail "hold over" policy is not saving money but is providing further incentives for mail senders to switch to alternative means of communication including a private mail delivery company. 

Although New Zealand Post is trying to ensure fastpost mail arrives at its destination before standard mail and then require mail senders to pay more for the fastpost service, the company is also regularly failing its own fastpost "target" of next day delivery. The company appears to have given an internal instruction that complaints about fastpost being delayed and then taking two days to be delivered are not be to recorded as complaints.

And six weeks after beginning to collect its own statistics on significant amounts of standard mail being delivered outside New Zealand Post's own delivery promise, the union is not aware that any corrective action has been taken by the company in that time.

The "hold over" of mail and the lack of concern by New Zealand Post of serious failures in its own delivery standards are of serious and increasing concern to members of the Postal Workers Union where a culture of providing an important community and social service remains strong.

John Maynard
President
Southern District
Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa

Graeme Clarke
Advocate
Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa

ENDS

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