AUSTRALIA Post CEO Ahmed Fahour is "confident" the national postal service is on the right track despite posting a $222 million loss for the past financial year - its first time in the red since 1982. 
But South Australian postal workers are worried that the new two-tiered letter service due to be implemented next year will accelerate the letter decline and squeeze shifts for 1200 local staff.
Mr Fahour released the devastating results for 2014-15 yesterday, saying "this has been a challenging but crucial year of transition for our business".
"We are confident we have the resources, infrastructure and support in place to manage the ongoing transition of our letters business as we become a more eCommerce-centric organisation," he said.
Ordinary stamped letter volumes fell by 10 per cent, with losses in the traditional mail business growing to $381 million. Revenue in the parcels business grew almost 4 per cent and for the first time delivered more than half of the organisation's total revenue. Communication Workers Union National Secretary Greg Rayner revealed to The Advertiser he hoped a new agreement between postal workers and Australia Post would be secured within weeks, adding: "The company, its hard-working loyal staff and this union have adapted before and will adapt again." But Nick Townsend, Secretary of the Communications Workers Union in SA, is worried about the two-speed mail service to be implemented next year. "The customer is going to get less service and the follow-on from that could be that less people will post," he said.
In SA, 1200 people work in the postal sector. Under the current agreement workers may be redeployed but can't be forced to take redundancy.
But many have lost lucrative night and weekend shifts.
Australia Post reported a loss after tax of $222 million, down from $116 million profit in 2014 - with revenue stable year-on-year at $6.37 billion.Mr Fahour's remuneration package is more than $4 million per year.