Unions call for Australia Post to end outsourcing, remain fully publicly owned

Unions have also flagged concerns that certain sectors within the publicly owned postal service were being privatised "by stealth", including through franchising.

The issues have been put to the federal government as part of a review into Australia Post, which it wants to modernise and make more financially viable.

In a submission to the government, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), which represents Australia Post workers in administrative and contact centre roles, said the organisation needed to halt outsourcing.

The union said outsourcing was happening all throughout the organisation - from processing facilities to sales - and has been "undermining pay and conditions, delivering worse outcomes and denying opportunities for career progression that would retain workers".

It pointed to outsourced roles advertised with salaries between $48,000 and $52,000, plus commission, compared to equivalent permanent roles within Australia Post paying at least $68,000, plus sales bonuses.

"CPSU members have informed us that the rationale used for outsourcing is there are 'not enough quality applicants'," national president Brooke Muscat wrote in the submission.

"The experience of members, however, is that the outsourced providers often supply workers who have not been properly trained or do not have the skills necessary, resulting in poor customer service or safety issues."

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Ms Muscat stated that according to the union's members, there were "virtually no permanent jobs" in contact centres, which rely on outsourcing and workers on fixed-term contracts, contributing to the problem of insecure employment within the organisation.

The union also wanted Australia Post to rule out further redundancies as the organisation undergoes change.

It comes after Australia Post announced in April it would slash hundreds of jobs by the middle of the year.

Australia Post is facing significant financial challenges, with its letter delivery business recording a $189 million loss in the first half of the previous financial year.

The government said changes were needed to ensure the postal service met the "needs of contemporary Australia" but earlier assured reporters the organisation would remain in public ownership.

Both the CPSU and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) welcomed the government's commitment to keeping Australia Post in public ownership but raised privatisation concerns.

The Communication Workers Union, which has also made a submission, worried some practices with Australia Post were "arguably the privatisation of sections of its network by stealth".

In its submission, the union cites claims that more than $288 million has gone to Licensed Post Offices (LPO), which are independent businesses with a licence to offer Australia Post products and services.

It said Australia Post has been "aggressively pursuing the closure of corporate post offices" while creating and subsidising "a network of competition".

"It is the CWU's view that the increasing reliance on, and subsidisation of, LPOs is a form of privatisation by stealth," the union said in its submission.

The CPSU also had privatisation concerns, stating that the government's discussion paper on modernising Australia Post was "silent" about the future of the organisation's transport and logistics subsidiary StarTrack, when there have been suggestions to privatise it in the past.

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said feedback from submissions will "inform Government decision-making on reform options to help Australia Post succeed".