Australia - Next-day delivery thing of past: union

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THE Communications Workers Union says Australia Post is abandoning country customers to save money.

CWU Victorian secretary Joan Doyle said Australia Post and union officials met recently, where an idea to move the sorting of Bendigo mail addressed to Melbourne to Dandenong was discussed.


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The union are concerned such a move would lead to job losses and delivery delays.

An Australia Post spokeswoman said this is just one option being explored and no decision had been made.

“Australia Post met with union representatives last week…to discuss the continuing challenges for our mail business, which lost more than $185 million in the last financial year," she said.

“We are working through the detail with employees and the union.

“As such it is far too early to talk about potential impacts on individuals.”

Ms Doyle said if this option is taken, it will lead to an inefficient system and job losses in the Deborah Triangle sorting room, which currently employs about 40 people.

“They have basically said, ‘If we degrade the service, we can save money’,” she said.

“It’s really bad news for the community.

"The standards are slipping.

“We are very keen to stop it.”

Mr Doyle said the union would be lobbying politicians and sending out postcards to households.

“We want to make it untenable for Australia Post to cut country jobs and services,” she said.

Bendigo member elect Lisa Chesters said sending Bendigo mail to be sorted in Dandenong "just doesn't make sense".

"To all businesses, productivity is a priority and this seems to be the most unproductive thing you could do," she said.

She said job losses affect the whole community.

"For the Bendigo economy to be strong, we need public sector jobs," she said.