Deutsche Post agreed a new labour deal with the united services union Ver.di today, which will avoid further strike action in the German mail network.

However, further strike action looks set to hit the UK’s post office network on Monday (29th April) with the Communication Workers Union continuing to protest changes to Post Office Ltd’s network of branches.

Read more: Postal strikes averted in Germany, but not in the UK | Post & Parcel.

The issue of under-paid postage is costing European postal operators a combined $1bn a year, according to research from UK software firm Pinesoft.

The London-based company said it talked to the 27 national postal operators around the European Union, on the condition that no individual names were revealed.

Figures provided showed that the impact of fraud, undercharged and unpaid mail on postal operator revenues added up to a billion US dollars.

Read more: Underpaid postage “costs EU postal operators a billion a year” | Post & Parcel.

BERLIN — German postal workers have won a 5.7 pay raise over two years in a deal that follows a string of short walkouts. It’s one of several current disputes in which unions sought hefty increases.

The ver.di union and mail company Deutsche Post AG reached the deal for some 132,000 workers Friday.

They will get a 3.1 percent increase on Aug. 1, followed by another 2.6 percent in October 2014. The deal runs through May 2015.

Read more: German postal workers win 5.7 percent raise over 2 years in deal following string of walkouts – The Washington Post.

• Carbon neutral GoGreen shipping for documents available for account customers in 110 countries
• Carbon emissions on individual shipments to be offset through investment in climate protection projects

DHL Express has introduced the GoGreen carbon neutral feature to its DHL Express Envelope shipping option, allowing customers to further reduce the environmental impact of their shipping activities. DHL Express Envelope ensures the door-to-door delivery of urgent non-dutiable shipments weighing up to 300 grams by the end of the next possible business day, in recyclable, environmentally friendly packaging. It is the optimal delivery choice for account customers shipping lightweight documents internationally. Read the rest of this entry »

BERLIN — Two international unions say they’ve filed a complaint with the German government alleging that Deutsche Post’s DHL division has attempted to stifle organized labor movements.

UNI Global Union, representing 2.5 million postal and logistics workers worldwide, and the International Transport Workers’ Federation allege DHL fired a group of workers in Turkey who were trying to organize into a union, and has also attempted to limit unions in other countries.

Read more: International unions accuse Germany’s DHL of labor violations – The Washington Post.

Deutsche Post DHL is encouraging its employees, customers and business partners to take part in the company’s Global Volunteer Day for the second year in a row. This year’s program is scheduled for September 6 to 16. But employees can continue to volunteer beyond this 10-day period, providing assistance to the elderly, helping the disadvantaged and cleaning up the environment, among other areas. Last year, the first year that the Global Volunteer Day was held employees in 130 countries and territories worked on approximately 600 projects.

Read the rest of this entry »

The German postal service is set to issue a stamp reminding Germans that 2,000 years ago Jesus underwent circumcision as an eight-day-old baby, a ritual religious practice that a German court has controversially banned in part of the country.

The stamp, marking the 200th anniversary of the German Bible Society on 11 September, shows a page from the New Testament that includes a description of Jesus being circumcised.

The Bible Society says the stamp’s design was finalised well before the heated debate over circumcision began, but it does not intend to delay the date of issue.

Read more: German postal service issue circumcision stamp amid heated debate – Europe – World – The Independent.

One of the developers of the new German digital postal mail service de-mail has said the system could form the basis of a pan-European digital network.

Mentana-Claimsoft, a software subsidiary subsidiary of mailroom technology company Francotyp-Postalia Group is part of the consortium of companies, which also includes TNT Germany and Deutsche Telekom, developing de-mail as an alternative to Deutsche Post’s E-Postbrief digital mail service.

The de-mail service was launched in a beta-phase back in March this year, and has been ramping up this summer with a view to a full consumer launch at the end of the month. The service has been looking to undercut E-Postbrief with a 39 cent per digital letter, compared to 55 cents for E-Postbrief’s secure digital mail service.

Read more: Germany’s de-mail service links to EU digital gateway pilot | Post & Parcel.

Deutsche Post is removing the personal encryption and digital signature capabilities from its secure digital mail service, E-Postbrief, as of next month.

The German postal operator has advised its customers that the terms of service for E-Postbrief will change as of 25th September.

Deutsche Post told Post&Parcel today that it removed the separate encryption and signature options for its service to make E-Postbrief easier to use.

Spokesman Alexander Edenhofer said the basic platform of E-Postbrief was sufficiently secure to meet requirements for transmitting legal documents electronically without the extra security functionality.

Read more: Deutsche Post to remove digital signatures from E-Postbrief service | Post & Parcel.

DHL, one of the world’s biggest logistics companies, said on Saturday it has signed an agreement with Etihad Rail to use the UAE’s new rail network, currently under construction.

The memorandum of understanding with the master developer and operator of the UAE’s national railway is part of DHL’s plan to reduce its environmental impact.

Read more: DHL inks deal to use UAE’s new rail network – Transport – ArabianBusiness.com.