‘MINDFUL’ OF JOBS BEING AFFECTED
Mr Seah then asked how the government will ensure that SingPost’s service quality does not fall, what the postal rate adjustments would look like, and how the government will preserve the jobs of Singaporeans who work for SingPost.
Mr Tan said that the government is “mindful” of the last point, and that regular conversations also take place between SingPost and the unions representing postal employees.
IMDA will continue ensuring SingPost keeps up and complies with its quality of service, given that a quality of service framework is in place. As SingPost is a listed company, it will have to undertake several reviews along with IMDA “as part of regular discussions”, Mr Tan added.
“I will just assure that … the context of the costs, overheads; context of the postal rate adjustments; context of the declining volume and the operating environment, will be considered as part of these discussions,” he said.
In relation to the service quality framework, Mr Leon Perera (Workers’ Party-Aljunied) asked if there are periodic customer satisfaction surveys conducted for SingPost, and if the government will discuss the findings and hold SingPost accountable to them.
Mr Tan responded that the framework looks at the service level agreement between the licensee and its customers, including how it delivers basic postal mail.
“These are issues that have been around for many, many years and is something that is continually refined to make sure that it meets the needs of the consumers in Singapore, and so meets the needs of the licensees,” he added.
“These are things that we benchmark across the rest of the world.”
Mr Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang) asked what happens if SingPost is unable or unwilling to carry out its obligations due to constraints.
Mr Tan said that IMDA imposes certain conditions – including quality of service – as part of SingPost’s licence.
Mr Chua also noted SingPost’s recent announcement that it is reviewing the commercial sustainability of the domestic postal business. He asked if discussions between IMDA and SingPost involve direct subsidising or funding of SingPost in relation to this.
In response, Mr Tan reiterated that since SingPost is publicly listed, it has its own set of governance rules around its financial statements.
“I will not touch on that because it’s under the remit of the board and management of the company, but I just want to point out that even in its most recent financial statements to its shareholders, the overall company is profitable,” he added.