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The public postal service, New Zealand, will soon close its last 79 stores as KiwiBank continues its plans to establish branch offices in New Zealand.
The KiwiBank branches in Petone, Stoke and Johnsonville, all located in the Wellington area, are expected to be closed, the state-owned bank announced on Wednesday. Only the communities are left wondering who will take care of their banking and postal needs.
"We are going through a difficult time," said Joe Gallagher, Communications Sector Coordinator at E tū. "What's going on is [New Zealand Post] reposition. "
The standalone KiwiBank model announced last week means PostShop services at New Zealand Post will not be available in one place. The New Zealand Post is planning instead to partner with other companies to offer their services instead of KiwiBank.
New Zealand's Executive Director, Janet Selwood, explains that the model is "to build partnerships with third parties or other companies to host our postal services, so that we can stay in communities for many years ".
"We have a retail network that I believe is one of the largest retail footprints in New Zealand, and among our 880 outlets, about 800 of them have already services offered through this model, "she told Newshub Tuesday.
"This is not new and it's something that has been part of our retail network for many years."
Mr. Gallagher said that the changes go back to the 2013 amendments made by the national government to the Deed of Understanding of New Zealand. The New Zealand Post was required to maintain the services but "was not obliged to maintain the company's stores".
"Nothing in this act from time to time prevents the New Zealand Post from offering other products or services from any point of service in its network, including services provided on behalf of another organization or entity ", states the legislation.
However, New Zealand Post is required to maintain a network of at least 880 points of service throughout New Zealand where consumers can purchase basic postal services. It must also maintain at least 240 points of service where personal assistance is available to consumers.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Tuesday that the New Zealand Post has told the government "that they are looking for opportunities for co-organization".
"I am concerned about some changes, because it is because the environment is changing and people are not using these postal services in the same way," she said. "We are looking at how communities can still have banking and postal services."
"But with some of the changes we're seeing, we're also concerned about the loss of banking and services."
Gallagher said New Zealanders were witnessing the "structural separation of the New Zealand Post", informing Newshub E tū of "working with KiwiBank to reduce the number of layoffs and seek to maximize the opportunities for new jobs." employment".
"There will certainly be an impact on jobs, but we need to work on what it looks like," he said. "Nelson is going to have a KiwiBank branch and we need to know how many full-time and part-time positions that will mean."
On New Zealand's post, Selwood said her organization was looking for a business partner instead of KiwiBank, where its postal services would be provided.
"In terms of the new point of sale, we certainly provide a lot of training for our new partners and then provide them with ongoing support," she said. "It's not just about providing stamps – it's about providing all the services currently provided."
"This has just been announced last week, so it is still too early.We are currently assessing or researching the interest of local businesses and we are going to follow a process that may take several months to come to fruition."
Johnsonville Community Association president Simon Pleasants has criticized plans by KiwiBank and New Zealand and has called on local businesses to reject New Zealand's franchise offer.
But Selwood said the same services offered at the Johnsonville postal facility will be offered at a new point of sale and there is no need to worry.
"I am aware that this is a change for the community, but I want to assure these clients that the services they currently receive will still be able to receive these services, but at another location."
New Zealand Post has announced an annual decrease of $ 14 million in its financial results released in August, requiring changes.
The core businesses recorded a net loss of $ 39 million as a result of continued and significant decline in letter volume.
Newshub.
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