Australia Post has been embroiled in more controversy, with Fairfax reporting extreme largesse from its CEO at the same time as it wound back deliveries:
Australia Post boss Christine Holgate hired a $3000-a-day “reputation management” firm while the organisation sought to justify winding back mail delivery services and win political influence during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can also reveal Ms Holgate, who earned more than $2.5 million in pay and bonuses as the publicly owned entity’s chief executive, spent about $300,000 on corporate credit cards and chauffeur-driven cars over a 12-month period.
The bill for hiring leading public relations consultant Ross Thornton reached more than $119,000 for just 38 days between June and July, with the former adviser to James Hardie and AMP still engaged by Australia Post…
Australia Post’s admission comes amid the organisation’s warnings that Australians should prepare to post their Christmas parcels up to six weeks in advance to ensure gifts arrive in time as it deals with massive backlogs at delivery centres…
This follows Fairfax’s report last month revealing that Australia Post’s highly paid executive team were lining up $7 million in bonuses while it requested staff volunteer to use their own cars to deliver late parcels:
The national mail service emailed its Victorian workforce, including staff from administration and finance, on Monday to “urgently” ask for help to meet unprecedented demand from customers because of a surge in online shopping.
The call to arms to employees coincides with the organisation’s managing director Christine Holgate softening the ground for her executive team to accept personal bonuses…
Ms Holgate, who was paid $2.5 million last year as the nation’s highest earning civil servant, is estimated to be in line for a $1 million-plus bonus while other executives could take home up to $600,000…
In the memo to staff on Monday, deliveries general manager Rod Barnes said AusPost needed people with a driver’s licence and car to help with parcel pick-up services from facilities in Dandenong South, Bayswater and Brooklyn and deliver to customers for shifts this week.
Amazing stuff. If Australian Post is busy, pay staff to work extra. That’s what a job is.
I love how the executives think they should get a bonus for their good work when parcel deliveries are being delayed and staff are being asked to work overtime for free.
Australia Post is merely the latest example of the failure of ‘marketisation’ to deliver government services.
The obscenity of CEO salaries and corporate structures have now infiltrated most publicly-owned institutions, including Australia Post and universities.
The fat cats at the top are creaming it while rank and file staff are treated like dirt on low-paid, insecure contracts, and end-user service delivery is gutted.
