Italian
Andrew Eagers ha lavorato come addetto alle consegne postali per più di un decennio e dice di aver notato un grande cambiamento in questo periodo.
“Definitely the decline in letters but parcels is just, there is a lot of parcels. I have been a postie for 13 years and I have loved every day of it. Speaking with customers and seeing the kids light up when they see us coming down the street. I love it and I love coming to work every day so I can't see why I would change.”
Comunque, Australia Post ha dichiarato che la consegna giornaliera delle lettere è in fase di revisione e, di conseguenza, i servizi potrebbero presto essere ridotti.
Il giro d'affari della consegna delle lettere ha registrato una perdita di quasi 190 milioni di dollari nella prima metà dell'anno finanziario.
L'organizzazione prevede che entro la fine del decennio le famiglie riceveranno meno di una lettera alla settimana.
Ma questa possibilità sta suscitando reazioni contrastanti.
“We use letters in our businesses so it would impact us. It's nice to receive a birthday card and that's got to come in the post. I'm old so I like to receive it rather than everything in emails. I am not too fussed at all, everything is done by email these days so, a letter is just - I can't remember the last time I got a letter, so I am not too fussed to be honest. Letters are important I think and it is nice to have them in your hand.”
La revisione del governo federale sul modello d’affari dell'azienda punterà a dare prioritò alla consegna dei pacchi postali.
Questa è un'attività in forte espansione, con oltre 500 milioni di consegne nell'ultimo anno finanziario.
Paul Graham, Amministratore Delegato di Australia Post, dichiara che sono necessari cambiamenti per mantenere l'organizzazione in attivo.
“We are on a path towards significant losses as Australians and the national postal service continue to change. We are an entirely self-funded business so we do not want to be a burden on the Australian taxpayer. We are looking at a number of models, we have pockets of our business where we don't have enough people so we continue to focus on making sure that Australia post is financially viable, that's good for jobs and for the community. We have started making changes to the challenges that we face but we want to hear from the community about what they want and how we engage and chart our way forward as an essential service to the community. We are very aware of our significant service obligations.”
Questi obblighi sono stati istituiti principalmente tra gli anni 80 e 90 e includono la consegna di lettere al 98 % delle case ogni giorno della settimana e 99,7 per cento almeno due volte a settimana.
Ma i nuovi documenti consultivi mostrano che questi requisiti non sono più finanziariamente sostenibili.
Shane Murphy, del sindacato dei lavoratori delle comunicazioni, afferma che qualsiasi modifica al servizio postale dovrà migliorare i servizi e non indebolirli.
“We are committed to the review of Australia Post in the interest of protecting the thousands of jobs of our members and the services they provide to our communities. (But) We will not stand back and accept millions of dollars of bonuses being paid to executives at the same time the company faces significant financial pressures for the future. That will form part of this review moving forward, a delivery model trial in Sydney and Hornsby will commence in April where rounds will be reviewed where letter and parcel delivery will be changed and trial will be put forward to see whether or not it is a way forward.”
Il processo di consultazione andrà avanti fino alla fine di aprile, ma la ministra delle comunicazioni federali Michelle Rowland ha detto che c’è un cambiamento che non è neanche stato preso in considerazione, sebbene abbia ammesso che la consegna delle lettere non durerà per molto.
“It is our absolute intention, and we make this crystal clear up front in this paper, there will be no privatisation of Australia Post and servicing the needs of regional and rural Australia must be paramount in any modernisation process. We know that Australia Post will be there to deliver letters whenever they need to be delivered. When the last letter is sent, whenever that day comes, it will be delivered by Australia Post.”
In Australia, la consegna delle lettere è attiva da oltre 200 anni.
Nei momenti più difficili del Paese, come il periodo tra le due Guerre Mondiali, il servizio è stato di vitale importanza.
Scrivere e spedire lettere è stata un’attività quotidiana per molto tempo, ma potrebbe presto diventare una cosa del passato.
English
Andrew Eagers has worked as a Postal Delivery Officer for more than a decade and says he's noticed a big change in this time.
“Definitely the decline in letters but parcels is just, there is a lot of parcels. I have been a postie for 13 years and I have loved every day of it. Speaking with customers and seeing the kids light up when they see us coming down the street. I love it and I love coming to work every day so I can't see why I would change.”
However, Australia Post says daily letter delivery is now under review and, as a result, services could soon be reduced.
The letter business delivered a nearly 190 million-dollar loss in the first half of the financial year.
The organisation predicts by the end of the decade, households will be receiving less than one letter a week. The possibility is receiving mixed responses.
“We use letters in our businesses so it would impact us. It's nice to receive a birthday card and that's got to come in the post. I'm old so I like to receive it rather than everything in emails. I am not too fussed at all, everything is done by email these days so, a letter is just - I can't remember the last time I got a letter, so I am not too fussed to be honest. Letters are important I think and it is nice to have them in your hand.”
The federal government's review of the company's business model will now look at prioritising parcels instead.
This is a booming business, with more than 500-million deliveries in the past financial year. Australia Post CEO Paul Graham says changes are necessary in order to for the organisation to remain profitable.
“We are on a path towards significant losses as Australians and the national postal service continue to change. We are an entirely self-funded business so we do not want to be a burden on the Australian taxpayer. We are looking at a number of models, we have pockets of our business where we don't have enough people so we continue to focus on making sure that Australia post is financially viable, that's good for jobs and for the community. We have started making changes to the challenges that we face but we want to hear from the community about what they want and how we engage and chart our way forward as an essential service to the community. We are very aware of our significant service obligations.”
Those obligations were largely set up in the 1980s and 1990s and include delivering letters to 98 per cent of homes every weekday and 99.7 per cent at least twice a week.
But the new consultation paper says those requirements are no longer financially sustainable.
Shane Murphy, from the Communications Workers Union, says any changes to the postal service must improve the services and not weaken them.
“We are committed to the review of Australia Post in the interest of protecting the thousands of jobs of our members and the services they provide to our communities. (But) We will not stand back and accept millions of dollars of bonuses being paid to executives at the same time the company faces significant financial pressures for the future. That will form part of this review moving forward, a delivery model trial in Sydney and Hornsby will commence in April where rounds will be reviewed where letter and parcel delivery will be changed and trial will be put forward to see whether or not it is a way forward.”
The consultation process will run until the end of April but Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says there's one change that is not being considered, even though she's admitted that posting letters is in its dying days.
“It is our absolute intention, and we make this crystal clear up front in this paper, there will be no privatisation of Australia Post and servincing the needs of regional and rural Australia must be paramount in any modernisation process. We know that Australia Post will be there to deliver letters whenever they need to be delivered. When the last letter is sent, whenever that day comes, it will be delivered by Australia Post.”
There has been a postal service in Australia for more than 200 years.
It has been vital in some of the country's toughest times, including during World Wars.
Writing and posting letters have been a daily task for a long time, but it may be well on its way to becoming a thing of the past.
Report by Danielle Robertson for SBS News.
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