MORE than 200 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday protesting against the amalgamation of three Australia Post delivery centres to a single unit in West Sunshine.
The gathering marched from Footscray Post Office on Barkly St to Williamstown Post Office on Douglas Parade with placards in tow. Greens MLC Colleen Hartland and Maribyrnong City Council Wattle Ward councillor Michael Clarke attended.
The Victorian Communication Workers Union-led protest is part of a widespread campaign against Australia Post’s decision to close down the West Footscray, Sunshine and Newport delivery centres and move to a new facility in Fairbairn Rd.
The new Western Delivery Centre will neighbour Australia Post’s Melbourne Parcel Facility and is expected to open in July 2008.
“We’re not opposed to the plan but we’ve always asked them to leave Newport where it is because we think it’s dangerous for the posties to ride back and also because Altona’s really growing,” union secretary Joan Doyle said.
Ms Doyle, who was a postwoman for 18 years, is also concerned at Australia Post’s plans to split full-time shifts into two separate casual positions.
According to Ms Doyle, one four-hour shift will be covered by a delivery centre worker who will sort the mail and deliver the mail bags to the green depot bins, while the other shift will be taken over by DODOs – dedicated out-door delivery-only workers – who will collect and distribute the mail on their round.
Ms Doyle believes the new regime is a push to skirt penalty rates and will throw accountability out the window.
She said while Australia Post could not sack the postal workers or make them take on casual shifts, many were being encouraged to move to other delivery centres. She said one postal worker in Newport has already been transferred to the City, while another had moved on to Gisborne.
“If you don’t do the sorting yourself, it’s often wrongly done and that means you have to bring the mail back and it’s delayed another day. If you don’t have responsibility for the whole job, everyone blames the other person (if something goes wrong).
“They did an experiment in Fitzroy, where they closed Fitzroy delivery centre and then replaced the people with these part-time people and that experiment’s been going on for six months, and basically the whole staff has turned over except for three people and what they’re finding is the mail is shocking, all the Fitzroy residents are complaining, because the new posties are not properly trained.”
Australia Post’s state communications manager Nadine Lyford said Ms Doyle’s comments about Fitzroy’s turnover of staff were “grossly exaggerated” and stressed delivery standards had greatly improved since the change.
“There has been no change to delivery standards in Fitzroy, in fact mail is now being delivered on average 45 minutes earlier and there has been a decrease in customer complaints, compared to the previous year (prior to the changes),” she said.
Ms Lyford also said that “there will not be any casual staff working at the delivery centre or delivering mail”.
In a letter sent to residents last week, North-West Delivery area manager Paul Smith said the Western Delivery Centre would continue to maintain its standards and service performance.
“The delivery of postal items will continue to be performed in the same manner and in most instances by the same postie. I can also assure you that no postie will be losing their job or their existing entitlements,” it said.
Mr Smith wrote the individual centres no longer suited Australia Post’s needs because of “changes in our operations and increases in mail volumes”.
