Russian Post pledges to increase pay for 100,000 workers

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Russian Post has promised to increase the salaries of postal workers across the country in what it describes as the first large-scale pay rise for four years.

The federal postal operator said it has started this month with employees in production within 17 branches, including mail carriers, call centre staff, sorting workers, drivers and postmasters.

The first pay increases will come in regions where there is the most significant gap between postal salaries and average income in the local labour market.

Russian Post is anticipating salaries increasing by at least 15%, extending to about a third of all its staff – more than 100,000 people.

The company anticipates the programme will cost an extra RUB 1.2bn ($37m) a year, and should be complete by the end of 2013.

Next year, a second phase will see employees in other Russian regions receiving a pay increase.

Attractive working conditions

The company said in a statement to the media: “The increase in wages is based on cost of living within the regions and compares with the current level of compensation for employees, for example in other national retail chains.”

The salary package comes with certain other compensation and benefits, including social benefits.

The move to increase salaries was announced by Russian Post’s new director general Dmitry Strashnov at the at the Trade Union of Communications Workers conference.

Russian Post, which has 350,000 employees in total and spends more than 65% of its budget on labour, said raising pay levels would help create “safe and attractive” working conditions and staff development, reducing stress in the workplace. It should also help to retain staff, attract younger people to start careers at the post office and improve quality of services generally, the company said.