Another 90 jobs are to go at Jersey Post
ANOTHER 90 people are to lose their jobs at Jersey Post.
The publicly-owned company this morning asked its employees to sign up to a voluntary redundancy scheme as part of a plan to save £4.9 million by the end of next year.
Article posted on 19th July, 2010 - 3.00pm
Thursday 2 September, 2010:
* Food price comparisons
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* Rare pictures to be auctioned
* Jersey Live build up
* Jersey Rugby supplement
* New head at Victoria College
* Comment from Peter Body
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* 6 pages of property; 5 pages of jobs; 2 pages of motors
42 Article Comments
Well done again, Mr.Ozouf.
Businesses were queuing up to bring their money to Jersey but you slammed the door in their faces.
Your spineless capitulation to UK pressure to kill off the local fulfilment industry puts the demise of Jersey Post fairly and squarely at your doorstep. Another local company employing local people driven to the wall.
Priceless!
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Cannot be anyone left now.
R.I.P. Jersey Post.
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Black & White Cat
How true
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This is due to the short sighted states members. They want competition but this will cause more people to lose jobs in Jersey and who will foot the deficit…you guessed it YOU!!!
Jersey Telecom let 134 staff go but Airtel and Sure bring in the staff from abroad on short term contracts…how does this benifit the public?..It doesn’t the less money that goes to the States the more people have to pay more tax.
Jersey Post 170 staff lost and again the new companies will bring in short term staff that pay nothing into the system….again Jersey Public will have to pay!!!
The long and the short of the story is trust the States members and in the end we will have high uneployment and higher tax again who will pay US…..I rest my case
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@ Black & White Cat
the reason Jersey post is losing 90 posts is failing normal mail which has halved in the last 3 years just as in the UK royal mail is reducing the number staff. Fulfilment in Jersey is growing but it doesn’t need more than 3 people at Jersey Post
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From what the JEP says the 80 staff made redundant were replaced with lower paid staff. So ti date none have actually gone. Big losses last year?? Maybe Ship2Me and Me:Mo should shoulder the blame. But even with overpaid bonused directors Jersey Post still made £951000 before tax…. not too shabby!
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@tom. Jersey Post Logistics was a company set up specifically to control the rapidly expanding fulfilment business in Jersey initially employing about 100 people. After the first year JPL was struggling to find additional premises large enough or obtain licences to employ enough additional staff to cope with the number of businesses wanting to come into the island. Employment was available to people who would struggle to find a job anywhere else. The potential revenue was truly mind boggling and Treasury was very happy with its cut of the profits.That is until Ozouf came along and decided that fulfilment was some kind of dirty word and ordered it shut down. So Tom, if as you say it now only needs 3 people to run it you have an idea of the devastation he brought about.
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How about senators ,we got a few of them ,i always wandered how many people does it take to run this small island ,i know were to start the cuts , can anyone give me this job i wont be charging 1ooo a day to the had working people of jersey .
And can we also get any rood , public servants who don’t like there job and are just there for the money, OUT please
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As you can see people : Jersey is hit really badly by the financial crisis : you remember most politicians were saying that Jersey won’t be hit by this crisis and prices for house market will stay high … i let people think twice now : Jersey is only at the start of it : people will start to leave the island, UK will be harder on tax evasion, rich people will leave too – I am sorry for you, just another 5 or 10 years and Jersey will be bankrupt
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So Jersey Post are cutting another load of jobs, even before it has been decided whether or not competition can enter the market…they have no-one to blame but themselves!
I know if my business was losing 4.9 million quid a year, it would close down, so the fact that the tax payer has to pick up the bill is just disgusting!
Jersey Post employees are overpaid!
I know some post ment earning over 70k, with massive pensions, just because it’s tax payer money, it doesn’t mean you can throughout it at states employees! no wonder this business is about to fold, get rid of the management aswell, as they clearly have no idea how to run a business AT A PROFIT!!!
The head of Jersey Post got a £30 grand payrise last year as published in the JEP a few weeks back.
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#5 Tom
Please get your facts straight before making stupid comments. Jersey Post’s fulfilment industry was sending out millions of items per year – I think that might need more than 3 staff – this isnt something to joke about, I know people with kids and a mortgage who have been working at Jersey Post all their working life and have been told they will have no job in three months time. Please have a bit more respect – dont be so damn ignorant (your as bad as the states members themselves)
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Sean#4 If I read the report right Jersey Post do not appear to have reduced their headcount. According to the report, whilst they let 80 go earlier this year, they employed another 80 on lower wages.
If this is true, it sounds grossly unethical. I wonder how many of the 80 taken on on the lower wage were long term residents?
I am not racist and I do fully appreciate why people want to emigrate to Jersey and other places, however, with the current rate of unemployment rate amongst locals, I am getting increasingly fed up with the number of new arrivals from foreign parts that I encounter daily. Don’t get me wrong, I love the cultural diversity, but I can’t help thinking that in the current economic climate, these are unlikely to be newly created positions, therefore, it seems likely that somebody who has been here a bit longer may be missing out.
I can see the attraction for employers in cheaper labour, but the social consequences are dire and will get worse. Bare in mind, recent imegrants will not of had time to fully establish themselves here and will not own property, so when things get worse its simply on the boat in the morning and thanks for the good times.
We must close the floodgates and take care of the current residents who have paid into the system for many years, trusting that their future would be looked after.
This would be a very simple task and as a small Island, just as simple to control.
Look at the Isle of Man, if you want to hire somebody for a position, you must have advertised it locally and prove that there isn’t a local for the job before you can apply for a work licence. And, if you get the licence, it is for that position only. Simple, easy, common sense. Why oh Why can’t our government implement such a simple scheme and protect the people who have been the backbone of the Island for many years?
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Jersey Post Group may have helped with the birth of the Jersey fulfilment industry, but we need a vibrant and competitive fulfilment industry. Just like ‘The Dead Parrot’ sketch, Jersey Post Logistics was a joke long past it’s sell by date. Thinking about it ‘The Dead Parrot’ sketch may still have some life in it.
My heart goes out to my poor neighbourhood postman but just like town criers technology is replacing them.
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Tom
Mail volums may be dropping but the revenue generated by the fulfilment business allowed Jersey Post to supply a network of over 20 post offices and a 6 day service benefiting the customer!!! With the removal of this revenue, not only do jobs have to go but the customer loses out. What’s better?
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Well said Black & White & Sean Cat you have hit the nail on the head here.
Where are these 170 ex Postmen going to find jobs in an island that has nothing on offer. In addition to this what about the fat cats at the top of the POst Office still taking huge bonuses.The Postmen have been let down bad they are working flat out now since the last cut of staff how can we keep a postal service or any other for that matter if Ozouf continues on in power.He is not interested in saving jobs for locals and we are watching local companies going to the wall.
The strain on Income Support is going to be colossal but he doesn’t worry he has employed a chap at £950.00 plus a day to let us know where to save money.Someone in the states should be taking a hard look at this and putting their foot down.
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@ Matt No 10
Before you are rude to other people perhaps you should check your facts!
The large fulfilment companies pack and sort their post themselves they then either deliver them or have ferry speed pick them up and deliver them to the harbour where they are weighed (done by Jersey Post one person) and then loaded straight onto the boat. The post never goes through the Jersey Post sort office and never gets handle by Jersey Post. They need someone to weigh it and someone to handle the paper work inc the VAT pre paid scheme. That is all Jersey post do.
Hence while fullfillment is growing in Jersey Post can get rid of 90 as they are only use these numbers on the normal post which is falling fast and they have to make cuts, fact. You can not blame the states for the fact no one send letters any more. You also can’t ask the fullfillment companies to subsidise the local post or they will leave for Guernsey Switzerland etc very fast two already have!
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I think there are many long term post men who would have been happy to take a pay cut rather than be made redundant. There are no jobs out there for these men and woman and I can’t beleive they made 80 redunant just to replace them with employees on a lower wage. I am sure these people would be happy to keep there jobs even if at a lower wage and the post office wouldn’t lose all their experienced post men…
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Flipping heck soon the whole island will be put on one months notice!! I,ve always said it that in 20 years time this rock will be returned to nature with a long gone human inhabitants. We should give the island back to the french as they would make it a far better place to live ,more attractive and we could then strike all the time!!LOL
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Complacent management are protecting their inflated salaries. They should be the ones made redundant and let workers who have learned valuable skills over the years move up providing they can change old fashioned work methods and attitudes. If Jersey post had been efficient with competive rates businesses wouldn’t have changed to couriers and other means. If you don’t change with the times you are dead. Simple !
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@Jambo #9. The average postie is not overpaid, its just all the directors. Get your facts right.
@Jon James #11. Jersey Post did get rid of 80 staff earlier this year but they haven’t taken on 80 as they stated (not sure of the number but is more like 50). Some of those who they took on have already left as they couldn’t hack it ie the younger staff!!! They should not be getting rid of their established posties and keeping those that were only employed earlier this year on the lower wage. Eventually they want all the established posties working indoors (if they have any left) at cheaper rate while they send the newbies out. Imagine what the service will be like then….
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9(jambo)what a load of twaddle I can tell you that not one postman/postwoman would come anywhere near 70k a year they would have to work 90 hours plus everyweek thats all 52 of them to get close and thats on overtime,so either these people you know lie to you or maybe you dont know any at all??And as for pensions they are all in the same states pension as are all the manuel workers and all pay the same in each week so nobody is on massive pensions maybe upstairs in the boardroom they are but where my hubby works I can tell you they are not.
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Apparently, redundancies were made on staff earning £15/hour and replacement staff were hired @ £10/hour.
For the sake of good order, does this mean that the staff on an annual salary of £150,000 will be reduced to £100,000 for the year ahead?
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Can’t wait for competition, so Jersey Post stop throwing my hard earned money down the drain. Get with the real world, your golden pay and pensions are no more.
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Re; Comments made by Jambo 10.
I can’t believe the ignorance of some people. Postmen over paid you are kidding. Where you’re getting your information from is certainly not correct and pure fiction. Never in all my connections with the Post Office have I heard of a Postman earning 70k per year. You’re talking pure rubbish Jambo.
The bosses there are still taking high salaries and bonuses the Postman’s bonus is a few stamps in a mass produced Christmas card each year which they can well live without if it means keeping their jobs.
Here are a few facts;
Jobs were lost last time around which confused the public when jobs were being advertised. They moved some 50 Postmen from their position and brought in cheaper labour to take on these positions. The originals had to teach their jobs to them by the way. These originals were moved over to cycle rounds. Now we have a further round of redundancies and the chosen few will have the opportunity of becoming postal operatives at a much lower salary and guess what a Postal Operative is yes you have it the original position that they were moved from.
JAMBO PLEASE GET YOU FACTS STRAIGHT
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think jambo must be getting a little bit mixed up postman are supposed to work till 1-30 ish most are finished for 10-30 so pro rata hes right there earn ing a fortune for less than 26 hours worked woulkdnt you all agree why not just pay them for the work they do now lets talk about something jersey post is finished dun and dusted
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Employees being made redundant and replaced by people on a lower wage? If I were a postman I’d be asking the Communication Workers’ Union what on earth they are doing. You’ve paid your dues – now it’s time they did something for you. This is exactly the reason unions were created; why are they doing nothing?
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I want a quiet island with a sustainable population.
If 90 unskilled jobs go, thats good news. With families as well, its 4 or 5 fields that can be kept green.
You can’t keep the population down unless there are fewer jobs.
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Give this island back to the french..
Their economy is growing..
ours is gone..
the old fags who run this island should all check into care homes..
the future is lost for anyone under 25 now..
I’m one of them with good education and settling for a part time for abit of cash.. here and there… i wont even speak of how this is looking for my younger sisters still in school…
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Jersey Post & Jersey Post Logistics have been creaming off the fulfilment industry for too long now! The charges being offered by the new operators, Citipost & Hub Europe, are markedly cheaper than Jersey Post and that includes full sortation of mail. Presently fulfilment Companies pre sort and do all the work for Jersey Post. The frightening thing is that if the JCRA hadn’t entertained Citipost & Hub Europe then with the price hikes we have had in recent years the fulfilment industry would be finished!
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The actual posties themselves are partially to blame for bad service. I saw one today post a you were out slip through my door. Not once did he ring the doorbell, knock etc.
Disgusting, he obviously could not be bothered.
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Thanks to all those who have voiced their support for the posties and other staff affected.In particular the comments and points raised by Kate,Black & White cat and Sean were absolutely right. Of the 90 job losses 54 of those will be posties and 36 will be admin related positions.This process is due to start in Jan 2011 and run until end of March 2012 as things currently stand.Whilst the redundancies are taking place 54 new postal operatives(posties)on cheaper rates of pay will be employed over the same timescale as there is still sufficient mail to be processed and collected/delivered.
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Okay lets look at it from a diffrent angle,
At 8 or 9 o`clock or what ever, everyone turns up to their place of work expecting to be given so many hours of work at a set rate of pay for a working day! They do not ask to see the boss, they do not ask to enter the building and assume it is their right to a wage and their right to take money from the company and their right to act as and how they wish to both the boss and to customers? NO, people in Jersey do not as everyone else in the world have a right to be given money for work, no work, no money, what cant you understand? if there is no money in a company one week for a boss not to take a wage, would the workers chip in to make up a wage for him / her? dont think so, why does every employee of the States think they are so special in the whole world to keep an unprofitable job and get paid? the tax payers pay your wages and probably earn a lot less and without pension provision and yet you moan??? get real. A job is no longer for life, some one else has to pay!!!!
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BEAN @ 32
Well said!
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@ #31 Insider
Your honesty has been refreshing on these boards.
So are you saying that 54 posties will be made redundant to be replaced by 54 new “postal operatives” who will ‘basically’ perform the same job?
That is a disgrace… CWU over to you!
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Reading some of the comments posted on this topic leave me with a sense of disgust.
If you have an issue with the profits/losses of Jersey Post, don’t blame the postmen and postwomen, after all they are just trying to make a living to pay their way.
It’s the faceless ones, making policies who are making the mess, but also taking the big earnings, it would’nt surprise me if the one in charge is taking in excess of £100k + bonuses a year. You and I will be advised the average wage is circa £46k, but in truth the real workers are on a lot less.
The real shame in all this is, families are affected by this, homes maybe lost, housholds put under stress….then due to loss of income, there will be no income to the tax dept where maybe they currently pay in thousands per year !!.
To lay people off and replace with lower paid workers is an utter disgrace and one which our politicians should hang their heads in shame.
They seem to have other ‘non important’ things to think about… come on ladies and gentlemen in the states WAKE UP to what is happening here in this island, or are you a party to it.
Oh, and me, yes I was made redundant earlier this year after 33 years. At 59, I can’t truthfully say I’m being head hunted, ha, ha.
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Looking through the comments people seem unaware that at the end of the day fat cats are winning…Post office personnel are people doing a job that needs to be done, they are working for a living.
I bet the guys who say they are overpaid work in finance…..
You guys are overpaid these guys walk miles to deliver your mail you spend seconds delivering a decision..pro rata YOU are overpaid.
Everyone needs a job.On their wages they could just about afford a house in Jersey is that morally correct? No it isnt people need money to live and have a family …rich people making decisions for the ordinary person do NOT
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Bean 32##
The tax payer does not pay Jersey Post wages they earn it..Jersey Post pay money into the States pocket when that is gone YES you will be paying their wages as the UK companies dont have to pay dividends
You have to think States get less revenue ..YOU pay more tax…
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Top management again paying themselves far too much while dumping front line staff.
And customer service suffers.
The greed on this island is out of control.
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@ 34 Vic Mel,Thanks for your compliment.With so much uncertainty and a seemingly constantly changing situation at JPO it is difficult to work as normal.Incidentally one point I forgot to mention in my previous post was that none of the new staff (postal operatives) taken on since March this year will be considered for redundancy as they are on the lower rate of pay and new conditions.Basically JPO want to phase out all the experienced long serving postmen who could challenge them on work issues and employ a workforce who would be too intimidated to seriously question their demands.Stalin @ 35 Excellent comments from you in my opinion.
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jersey should have a rethink of where it is going in the next 50 years. if jersey residents leave it to the politians then i fear for the future. i know we elected them but as things stand with unemployment rising people will be forced to act.
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No, not all fat cats work in finance.
Its all across the post office.
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VR offer to posties a few months back 20% of salary and 2 weeks wages for every every completed year of service. Office staff not included in this phase of redundancies. This recent joke. 0% of salary and two weeks for every completed year. So basically first offer is no offer. Changing all but a few job descriptions covers the old employment jersey 2003 law loop hole, however the level of overtime currently in use needs a serious look when job are under threat. Kinda breaches JACS guidelines which surprises me as Im sure there is a JACS expert aware of every move!
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