The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued its eighth report assessing cross-subsidy between the services provided by Australia Post.
Australia Post has a statutory monopoly over the delivery of standard letters weighing less than 250g that cost no more than $2.40 to send. All other services provided by Australia Post are open to competition.
The ACCC analyses Australia Post’s regulatory accounts to establish whether its competitive services are being cross-subsidised with revenue from its monopoly services.
“The regulatory accounts do not show that Australia Post is cross-subsidising its competitive services with revenue from its monopoly services,” ACCC commissioner Joe Dimasi said.
“On the contrary, in 2011 12, Australia Post’s competitive services as a whole were a possible source of subsidy for the monopoly service,” Mr Dimasi said.
To assess whether Australia Post’s competitive services are being cross-subsidised by its monopoly services, the ACCC uses information provided by Australia Post in accordance with ACCC record-keeping rules.
The ACCC was given the power to issue record-keeping rules in 2004 in response to complaints by Australia Post’s competitors that Australia Post was damaging competition by cross-subsidising its competitive services with revenues from its reserved services.
Staffing freeze
Australia Post has announced that it will implement an enterprise-wide freeze on certain types of recruitment, i.e. all external recruitment (existing and new) and external contractor, fixed term or casual.
The recruitment freeze covers all external recruitment at all levels (base-grade, Award and contract), all extensions to e.g. fixed term and all conversions e.g. contractors to permanent positions.
The freeze will not impact on internal promotions, transfers, redeployment. Vacancies should only be filled internally, although the company says executive general managers will have some scope for exemptions based on operational requirements.
The measures were announced as part of an attempt to contain costs and offset revenue declines.
Union members get locked out
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) reports that Australia Post managing director and CEO Ahmed Fahour locked out over a hundred of its delegates who had been invited to a meeting with him at the Grand Hyatt Ballroom in Collins Street, Melbourne.
The delegates had donned shirts for Mr Fahour’s road show with the message: “EBA 8 Time to Deliver” and carried posters “Ahmed: It’s Time to Deliver a Decent Pay-rise.”
CWU Victoria secretary Joan Doyle said that the lock-out was poor form when all the delegates had been invited and had travelled long distances to be there to meet with Mr Fahour.
Ironically, Australia Post was unable to get reps to attend in Western Australia where the general consensus among delegates was that they had heard it all before and they would prefer to focus on getting the mail out.
Delegates in South Australia were stunned to hear the CEO suggest the pay rise be paid for by reducing the contribution Australia Post makes to the defined benefit superannuation scheme.
Somewhere between SA and NSW, the CEO changed his message and started referring to the possibility of a 2% pay rise. In the same presentation he berated the union for making claims he said would cost the company $450 million. Interesting, as negotiations are still in their early stages and the union has not put in its formal pay claim yet. (270)
