Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu (陳建宇) yesterday said that Chunghwa Post plans to consolidate operations of its post offices, adding that the state-run company would not close post offices in remote areas.
The Chinese-language daily China Times yesterday reported that Chunghwa Post plans to close 100 post offices nationwide before the end of this year, and that about 300 employees would be affected.
In response to questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) during a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, Chen said that Chunghwa Post is evaluating operations of each post office, particularly those that consistently handle less mail and packages.
He said that there are also cases in which two or three post offices are in close proximity, adding that merging operations of such offices would help the company to better utilize resources.
Chen said that post offices in remote areas that serve economically challenged families and elderly people living alone would not be closed.
“Those working in post offices that are closed would be transferred to different branches, with their employment rights remaining unchanged,” Chen added.
Chunghwa Post said in an official statement that the plan to consolidate operations was proposed because of an increase in business transactions conducted over the Internet and a streamlining of operating procedures in certain businesses, adding that it is commissioned by the government to meet the needs of residents in the nation’s remote areas and outlying islands.
The plan would first evaluate post offices that are close to one another, have an overlap in customers, or have experienced a decline in business, the company said, adding that no deadline had been set for the completion of the plan.
Chunghwa Post vice general manager Chiang Jui-tang (江瑞堂) said that the company might be able to merge the operations of three to five post offices by the end of the year, but added that no employees would lose their jobs due to the mergers.
As an example, Chiang said that a post office near the Taichung Railway Station has only four to five employees, who could easily be transferred to the city’s main post office, which is about 400m away from the station.
Chunghwa Post chief secretary Wang Shu-ming (王淑敏) said that the company is also assessing post offices inside military bases, as the military has seen a reduction in personnel.
Lee Kan-hsiang (李甘祥), director of Chunghwa Post’s department of mail business and operations, said the density of the post offices in metropolitan areas might be too high in some districts.
For example, post offices at the Legislative Yuan, the Executive Yuan, Taipei Railway Station, on Nanyang St (南陽街), Zhongshan N Rd (中山北路) and Zhonghsiao W Rd (忠孝西路) are all near one another, Lee said, adding that the company is considering how the operations of such post offices could be consolidated.
Chunghwa Post statistics showed that about 1,400 employees are scheduled to retire this year and that growth in the volume of mail and packages handled by post offices gradually declined from 3.87 percent in 2010 to minus-0.32 percent in 2013.
However, last year, volume of mail handled grew by 1.97 percent, statistics showed.
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