Today is World Post Day:

Securing the future of the post

by Upali S. Jayasekera

The Sri Lanka Post, having come into existence in 1815 on an organised scale, with the first six post offices being opened in Colombo, Galle, Matara, Trincomalee, Mannar and Jaffna has served the nation, providing basic communication needs to the people, without distinctions of social standing, distance or geographical location, at costs within everyone's reach.

With small beginnings, the postal network has expanded and the services have been improved and today there are 648 post offices, 3409 sub-post offices and 502 agency post offices, spread throughout the country with a staff of around 22,000.

There is no other service so close to the people. It is one industry which has direct access to the people, as a post office employee visits every household for the delivery of mail.

Communication in the real sense is the foundation of modern society which plays important roles in the domestic as well as international sphere.

The services offered by the postal srvice in that context has been of vital importance to the people in their everyday life.

For several centuries, the postal service has been in existence in various forms, and for more than a century traditional postal services have been provided fulfilling important social, economic and cultural functions. However, the scenario has now changed.

Today, the post is facing a challenge where the very existence of postal service is facing a critical situation due to economic and technological changes taking place, here and abroad. In that context the postal service cannot sit on its past laurels.

The problems faced need to be studied with a view to hasten adoption of measures to overcome them. In doing so, the fact that the services provided in social terms are such that they should be made available to the people at affordable rates, on the basis of one's capacity to pay and not one's ability to pay, cannot be overlooked.

Accordingly, this basic principle needs to be kept in mind, in finding solutions to the problems faced by the postal service.

Some of the main challenges are:

*Opening and maintenance of Post Offices and Sub-post offices, and introduction of mail delivery especially at sub-post offices without commercial justification when services could be provided by other existing offices, satisfactorily. There are around 800 such offices, I believe. Of course some of these offices need to remain for societal requirements though stamp sales, mail volume etc. may not justify the continuance of those offices.

*Low productivity and decreased profitability due to the failure to update obsolete machinery, work handling systems and modernize operations.

3.Restricted marketing and ineffective sales promotion strategies.

*Outdated working systems, red tapeism, overstaffing and the absence of managerial autonomy and accountability resulting in falling service standards and increased operational costs.

*Advance in Telecommunication Technology affecting the traditional mail operations procedure.

Data communications, cable television, facsimile transmission and electronic mail have become available as a result of new telecommunication technology.

The impact of these new services on the traditional mail services has been felt and the post has lost income.

*Multinational couriers with local partnerships have made inroads, selecting for themselves what is profitable.

When more lucrative business is siphoned away by the courier services, the post has been compelled to handle the non-profit making areas of the service. That has resulted in the Post losing businesses and income.

External financial assistance being conditioned toward anti-inflationary policies and slashing of government spending, made it not possible for the government to provide sufficient funds in the past to update the services and subsidise postal expenditure. As a result deregulation and privatization were on the cards.

That uncertainty of the future of the postal service had adverse effects on the postal services as a whole.

The very nature of the services provided required that it remained with the State, as otherwise a good postal service will be denied to the vast majority of the people and may even become the preserve of the affluent.

Remaining in the public sector, and for the purpose of continuing to stay in the public sector as an industry, the Post has to meet dynamic competition from other providers of services, whilst providing services to the community as a whole.

That requires the adoption of a commercial outlook in postal business, without which income generation will not be possible.

Without income generation the Post will be compelled to operate on the basic of financial instability which in turn will not only retard the progress of the industry, but also bring about the ultimate capitulation of the services to the private couriers and other service providers.

Running the postal services on commercial criteria is all the more necessary as the postal administration cannot any more depend on government subsidy for sustenance and expansion.

The Post should ensure self funding to meet funding requirements.

The establishment of financial objectives and change towards profit based targets require a greater measure of autonomy for the postal administration even if it means the breaking away from a Treasury controlled Institution.

In view of the prevailing situation the Post should consider adopting the following measures to preserve itself as a viable industry.

* Expansion of postal services and opening of new offices to bear some relation to the proper and profitable use that would be made of it.

* Make use of cheaper agencies for expansion of postal facilities further until financial stability is achieved.

* Postal Rates fixing to be more balance and be commercial based

* Simplify procedure to reduce handling and manpower costs. Reducing overtime expenditure has to be looked into.

* Mechanisation to a practicable extent.

* Provide incentives to staff for greater productivity.

* Modernise procedures-adopt modern management principles.

* Introduce new technology to reduce costs and make services attractive, taking into account cost effectiveness.

* Adopt aggressive marketing strategy-offer concessions to bulk users.

* Diversify activities.

* Improve and expand services to ward off competition from courier services.

* Come hard on corruptions and indiscipline.

* Concentrate more on philately promotion.

The postal service has to overcome challenges and operate as a commercially viable service to meet public demand on a competitive basis.

It should have a staff committed to giving of its best to the service. A greater responsibility therefore lies on postal employees themselves to adopt measures to overcome the problems faced and to safeguard the postal industry in the national interest as well as their own.

Postal employees should develop and improve the efficiency of the postal services for the benefit of all.