1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,240
Speaker 1: So we have yet another blow in the slow demise

2
00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,640
Speaker 1: of the postal service. New Zealand Post says more than

3
00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,040
Speaker 1: one hundred and forty of its stores are closing as

4
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,640
Speaker 1: part of changes to its urban network. The city's most

5
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,480
Speaker 1: affected are Auckland and christ Church. John Maynard is an

6
00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:14,800
Speaker 1: organizer for the Postal Workers Union and with US Hi.

7
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:19,239
Speaker 1: John Hi, Now, John, just give me an understanding of

8
00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,600
Speaker 1: what's going on here. Is New Zealand Post closing those

9
00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:24,800
Speaker 1: little post shops where it's like a little post shopping

10
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:26,720
Speaker 1: run inside a dairy. Is that what's closing?

11
00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:29,440
Speaker 2: Is they closing one hundred and forty two of those

12
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,960
Speaker 2: ones which they've franchised out and now they're going to

13
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:32,520
Speaker 2: close them down.

14
00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:34,479
Speaker 1: That's right, okay, And then they're keeping the kind the

15
00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:36,239
Speaker 1: bigger ones like where you go in and it's a

16
00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:37,120
Speaker 1: proper postal place.

17
00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,159
Speaker 2: Well. The interesting thing is there's some good news about this.

18
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:42,640
Speaker 2: The hubs that they're going to set up are going

19
00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,640
Speaker 2: to have good service and good services. But I noticed

20
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,080
Speaker 2: that New Zealand Posts won't come out and publicly talk

21
00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,959
Speaker 2: to the news media about this because it's one thing

22
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,760
Speaker 2: for the company to adjust to changing male volumes and

23
00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,000
Speaker 2: people's communication methods. But it's quite another to consistently act

24
00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,440
Speaker 2: in a manner which undermines people's confidence in the postal service.

25
00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,000
Speaker 2: And here's a chance for them to come up and say, well,

26
00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,000
Speaker 2: actually there's some good news here, but they're hiding behind

27
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:08,680
Speaker 2: the parapets. They won't come out to talk to you.

28
00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:10,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm going to get to I'm going to get

29
00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:12,640
Speaker 1: to that with you, because that is quite weird. But

30
00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,119
Speaker 1: explain to me why they're shutting down these little franchises,

31
00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,399
Speaker 1: because I can't imagine that they cost that much to run.

32
00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:18,399
Speaker 1: So what's the point.

33
00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's going to hit their franchises because you know,

34
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 2: I've got people running chemis shops and bookshops and libraries

35
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,000
Speaker 2: and things, and that's going to reduce the foot track

36
00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,759
Speaker 2: traffic going through there. But they're certainly trying to consolidate.

37
00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 2: The government's are leaning on them to cut costs and

38
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,000
Speaker 2: to return surplus cash, extra cash back to the government.

39
00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,800
Speaker 2: So how much money though, though no doubt will be

40
00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:41,800
Speaker 2: saving money from this, or they wouldn't be doing it.

41
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:43,920
Speaker 2: And it's going to reduce the services, of course to

42
00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:47,960
Speaker 2: the people, and further reduce people's access to this public service.

43
00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,760
Speaker 1: Okay, so there are some ninety percent of people will

44
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,320
Speaker 1: still live within four k's of a postal place, which

45
00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,600
Speaker 1: I suppose is not that bad. But there are some

46
00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,200
Speaker 1: people who are going to live about thirteen k's away,

47
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:00,680
Speaker 1: which is a hell of a way to drive to

48
00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,040
Speaker 1: post the letter. Where do you know where these people are?

49
00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:04,160
Speaker 2: Like?

50
00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:05,760
Speaker 1: Which are the communities?

51
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,760
Speaker 2: I tell you what. I spoke to a person in

52
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,840
Speaker 2: a post shop franchise who had to look on the

53
00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,560
Speaker 2: website to find out did she still have a job.

54
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,080
Speaker 2: So even people in these franchises weren't aware of what

55
00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,280
Speaker 2: was going to happen to them. Four kilometers away may

56
00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,240
Speaker 2: not seem very far. I means you got a walk.

57
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,119
Speaker 2: I'm familiar with a shop that is in the middle

58
00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,480
Speaker 2: of an area where there's a large residential area. People

59
00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,560
Speaker 2: walk there with their parcels for their mail, and there

60
00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,120
Speaker 2: are a couple of rest homes close by, retirement villages.

61
00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,440
Speaker 2: Now those people are going to have to drive into

62
00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,520
Speaker 2: the city because they could walk down to the little

63
00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,679
Speaker 2: place on the main road. Now they're going to drive

64
00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,400
Speaker 2: into the city in a car. And the other problem

65
00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,360
Speaker 2: they've got is where to find parking. Because people have

66
00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,160
Speaker 2: told me some of the hubs that the company are

67
00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,560
Speaker 2: setting up are not very good for trying to get parking.

68
00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,480
Speaker 1: Okay, so what is going explain to me what's going

69
00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,760
Speaker 1: on here that New Zealand Post makes an announcement then

70
00:02:58,800 --> 00:02:59,760
Speaker 1: turns its phones off.

71
00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,400
Speaker 2: Do they always do this if there's bad yep. If

72
00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,880
Speaker 2: there's bad news like run out of Christmas stamps to

73
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,960
Speaker 2: Christmas in the row, they won't talk about it. Promote

74
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,839
Speaker 2: postal voting, they won't talk about it. But if there's

75
00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:16,919
Speaker 2: an opportunity to say, oh we're going to lay off

76
00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,520
Speaker 2: all of our postings, oh, they'll talk about it from

77
00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,320
Speaker 2: the rooftops. Oh we're going to go to three day delivery,

78
00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,120
Speaker 2: we'll tell everybody, oh we're going to lay off one

79
00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,640
Speaker 2: hundred and forty two post shops. But they should be

80
00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,400
Speaker 2: out there now promoting what is good about news on

81
00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,040
Speaker 2: posts and it's very rarely that they do it. And

82
00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,760
Speaker 2: here was a chance today to come out and say, well,

83
00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 2: there will be these hubs and these are the good

84
00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,400
Speaker 2: services you're going to get there. It's taking me from

85
00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,040
Speaker 2: the union to tell people that there is something good

86
00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,480
Speaker 2: about this. Why isn't this on Post doing that?

87
00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:46,240
Speaker 1: John? It's good to talk to you. Thank you very much.

88
00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,920
Speaker 1: Joh Maynard Postal Workers' Union organized for more from Hither

89
00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,040
Speaker 1: Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to news talks. It'd be

90
00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,080
Speaker 1: from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio