Some Post Offices Could Be Closed
Government’s Management Consulting Section is undertaking a full organisational review of Bermuda’s mail system which may result in the closure of some post offices.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry yesterday [Dec.7] said the review focuses on the development of a range of business scenarios to assist with policy-level decision-making regarding the future of the Bermuda Post Office [BPO].
“In an environment where mail volumes have been decreasing by one million pieces of mail each year for the past few years and where electronic communications has become the new norm, a strong emphasis must be placed on post office consolidation while simultaneously working to protect jobs,” said a Government spokesman. “This could mean that some Post Offices may close amongst other changes.
“The same kind of thinking is being applied to postal services worldwide. The reality is that postal entities around the world, particularly in leading jurisdictions such as the US and the UK, are having their own share of revenue challenges.”
The spokesman pointed out the US recently announced plans to scale back its services after announcing the redundancies of several thousand postal workers.
“Simply put, postal sectors globally are having to streamline services to decrease their growing deficit,” she said. “That said, the Bermuda Post Office is in the process of reviewing all of its processes to determine the best way to increase its service levels to the public without impacting its delivery standards while decreasing costs for the taxpayer.”
Well, in other words it looks like redundancies are coming and there is no other way around it. I hope that goverment will be truthful with the Bermuda Post Office staff and tell them what the real picture is and we all know who the artist is and will be,Help is needed in every area on this Island of Bermuda.
Some things are just a sign of the times it is only natural to exspect this how many people really write and send mail and most of your bills you can get electronically. It is a fact that mail deliveries have declined so that is good management to look at downsizing and using people in other areas.
down size from the top – seems the top positions have not been chopped in all of this recession period of lay-offs – don’t want to cut back on the positions up there – something is wrong!!
Yes! Right from the top! Starting with the cog in the wheel!
“using people in other areas” more like we waste taxpayer dollars, can’t pay your post office salaries…check you later…you’re on you own mate…REDUNDANCIES!!!VOTE OBA IF YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR ISLAND HOME IN THE NEXT ELECTION…IF NOT GO JOIN THE GROWING WELFARE QUEUE AND BLAME NOBODY BUT YOURSELVES!!!!!
I am a supporter o the OBA…however, anyone that does not agree the the Postal Service has become less important and less of an essential service. It makes sense to close some post offices. For example in my area we have Flatts, Harrington Sound, and Crawl Hill Post Offices. It wouldnt be a bad idea to close the Harrigton Sound Post Office. Even if the staff move to the other post offices it will be one less electricity, phone, and maintennce etc…. cost. It is a sign of the times…we are all using email , not snail mail. Has nothing to do with UBP, PLP or OBA.
How about three post offices? One in town, one east, and the other west. Some of the older, more historical post offices could be turned in to museums/tourist traps, etc.
I bet they wish they hadn’t been acting like 5-year-olds for the past 3 years. Throwing away our mail because of a typo instead of delivering it. If they hadn’t been pulling that nonsense I’d still be getting my statements and bills the old-fashioned way. Now the only thing that gets delivered to my house is junk mail.
I’ll also add my congratulations to the GPO. These days my snail mail is a fraction of what it used to be due in no small part to their 100% address accuracy policy.
Time to fire all those who, through their attitude, have done themselves out of a job by helping to push us into the electronic mail age.
Look around. Post offices closing, massive postal staff cuts all over.
Will the PLP have the guts to make necessary cuts before an election? No way. The issue will bounce from committee to committee & come to natural attrition before any hard decisions are carried out.
Dear Post Office: Why do I only receive every other issue of the magazines I subscribe to?
Chart,
The same happened to me and I ended up canceling my subscription. You could guarantee that I would only receive 9 months worth of magazines out of a 12 month subscription.
Dear Chart,
We enjoy your magazines so much. Thank you for subscribing. We’re so sorry but after we’ve finished reading them, sometimes they are too tattered to put back in the mail to you, so we just destroy them.
Yours faithfully,
Your well read postman
The Post Office needs to be slimmed down to a fraction of what it is. First it is losing around $8 million a year, a large saving there. Second, all the profitable bits have already be taken over by local and overseas courier services, so it is unlikely to be able to increase serve, except as Mad Dawg says above, deliver what little is remaining and use common sense when the address may not have every i dotted and t crossed. Face it, the Post Office is a dinosaur in the modern era.
I think they have this backwards: closing post offices to save jobs. In the long term they need to improve the mail service more than protect the jobs … and that will not happen by closing post offices. If you look at their financial crisis, it is caused by them having too many employees. If you reduce service without reducing headcount, you are just heightening the problem and increasing inefficiency.
Of course there will be layoffs! You think four or so post offices will close and the workers will relocate, full-time, to another location! Let’s be serious here.
Do you really believe what the PLP says?! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool 65,00 people for twelve years, shame on us.
Interesting that this morning I received a piece of mail addressed to my late father-in-law from Butterfield Bank. The address only included the road name (no house number) and had the incorrect postal code by one digit – it was delivered!!!
I received mail for my Dad as well – I called teh bank and spoke to a lady in the department who issues that particular letter – that was the information she received from the department involved – and this department knew he had died more than 10 years ago…..
For a look at how much the Bermuda taxpayer is shelling out to support this antiquated mode of communication, see Larry Burchall’s Opinion piece in Wednesday’s Bermuda Sun (link below). It is shocking how much this is costing the taxpayer!
http://bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=55663
But, but, but … the PLP Government were just gloating over the $500k they saved taxpayers at the GPO.
As is typical with this Government, they spend more time obfuscating facts with their selective fiction; leaving the voters scratching their heads wondering when we’re finally going to hear the truth.
By the way, how is preparation of those half year management accounts coming along Madame Premier? Strange that you released them in years gone by but this year chose to erroneously hide behind Parliamentary procedure to prevent the public finding out how badly the PLP Government have run us a ground.
Who would have thought in an island surround by shipwrecks the most serious threat would have come from land. The irony is sad but unfortunately true.
I was in the flatt’s post office about one month ago and there were 4 staff members standing around talking about social events while one other person got me the parcel that came in for my house. If the work volume does not support the staffing then they need to cut the staff – your job is not your social calendar afterall.
It is funny how you read these blogs to hear all the moaners and street level bureaucrats. The global postal industry for letter mail is dying and has been for over a decade since the introduction of the e-mail and internet. Volumes of mail have been declining globally and Bermuda is no different. The only increase in mail has been junk mail because spam blockers stop most of it. Junk mail tells you about special offers from local businesses. Think about this next time you receive junk mail; Buy Bermuda, printing and delivering those flyers etc. keeps local industries like marketing firms, printer and the postal service employed, not to mention the local businesses that are trying desperately to stay open.
As for addressing; I get my mail every time and on-time because I know my address and how to communicate it. Those of you who think that everyone in the post office should know you regardless of how bad your address is…you are the problem. I am glad the BPO stop delivering your incorrect mail at my tax dollar expense for your irresponsible behavior. I bet now you know your proper address…
idiot.
If the volume of mail has declined in Bermuda (and it has world-wide) then maybe we don’t need the St. George’s Sorting Station anymore and each parish post office can go back to sorting what little mail they have.
Just like Barnes & Noble have breathed new life into a dying book store with their electronic NOOK reader, so should the post offices have welcomed email and the internet. I think they could’ve set up internet cafes (without the coffee maybe) and done some “thinking outside the box” to grow the post offices mission to more than delivering snail mail. They should’ve got onboard with new ways to market themselves in a world of communication in the “Information Age”….surely!
The Post Office operation is not interested in “new ways to market themselves in a world of communication in the “Information Age.” If you read Mr Burchall’s piece in the Sun you will realize that their purpose – like all upper echelons of the PLP-stacked Civil Service – is to maximize salaries & pensions at the top!
Make your vote count….
no surprise@@..Those rude ppl with their pompous and discourtesous behav..they failed to know that people got options..like ecommerce,fax,email.etc..Let them vote back their incompetent govt..to feed their hungry and employed faces!!
Post office workers inefficiences are now seeing reality compounded by a inept govt..Let them eat cake now!