Union enters post row

By Kath Gannaway
THE Communications Workers Union will meet with Australia Post tomorrow (Wednesday) in a bid to persuade it to retain the Healesville Walk PostShop.
Union representative John Hogg attended the packed public meeting in Healesville on 10 February at which more than 160 people called on Australia Post to keep its corporate post office open.
Mr Hogg said the CWU (the communications arm of the Communication, Electrical, Plumbers Union) had put Australia Post in dispute under its Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.
He said figures provided to the union by Australia Post showed there were sufficient staff hours at Healesville to keep it open.
“Under the retail conversion policy if you have the equivalent of three full time workers (just over 100 hours) then you are not allowed to close a post office down.
“We believe they have that at Healesville if you count the box sorters, so the debate is about whether box sorters are included or not,” Mr Hogg said.
He said the other criteria was revenue and that the union had reliable information that at Healesville it was sufficient to retain the post office.
Australia Post refused to reveal the turnover at the public meeting saying only that the business was losing money.
Healesville resident Robyn Johnson, who is leading the campaign to keep the post office, told the Mail the union’s stand supports comments made at the public meeting and what has been claimed all along.
“We believe the revenue is there and that their claims of commercial-in-confidence just don’t stack up. It is not a private business and they have no competition,” she said.
“We will continue to campaign to keep that post office open and ask the community to continue to use it.”
Australia Post spokeswoman Nadine Lyford confirmed Australia Post would meet with the union but said staffing levels meet the EBA criteria. Turnover, she said, was not an issue.
Meanwhile renovations to the Main Street Licensed Post Office are going ahead and Australia Post has applied for a planning permit to the Shire of Yarra Ranges for placement of post office boxes.
Janice Mascini, Australia Post state communications manager said Australia Post is investigating improvements to the access laneway lighting and accessibility for disabled and elderly customers.
“We have offered to contribute to the cost of repairing and improving the paved laneway even though it is a public thoroughfare,” Ms Mascini said.
She said services would continue to be provided from both outlets for a short time pending the completion of the alterations to the Main Street post office.