As our nation comes together to stop the spread of COVID -19, the Australia Post team is doing all we can to support our communities by delivering to their door and keeping our network of Post Offices open to provide a range of essential services.
The various Government restrictions across the States have driven a shift to online shopping, and as a result, Australia Post is managing the highest ever volume of parcels in our 211 year history, with parcel volumes up 186% in Victoria in the third week of August. At the same time, we have had to reduce the number of workers at any one time in our Victorian workplaces in line with current State Stage 4 restrictions. This has meant we have had to deliver more parcels with less people, putting a strain on our delivery network and causing delays in our delivery timetable.
We know how important it is for our community to receive their parcels in the fastest possible timeframe, so the team at Australia Post have stepped in to lend an extra hand to deliver your parcels to you. Our non-operational team members are now working alongside our Posties in Victoria to help us catch up on the backlog of parcels and deliver your parcels to you.
We are so thankful for all of our hardworking frontline team members who have kept our delivery network going so that we can service our nation in its time of need, and we were so pleased to be able to provide over 30,000 Australia Post employees with a "Thank You" bonus to recognise their dedication and commitment during this pandemic. And for our employees directly impacted by COVID-19, we will continue to make our paid Pandemic Leave available them.
During the pandemic, we have welcomed almost 2000 new team members to help us manage the unprecedented parcel volumes, and we are recruiting another 260 positions in our Customer Contact Centres. In the lead up to Christmas, we'll also recruit an additional 2,500 people into our network so we can continue to serve the community and deliver these essential supplies. We'd love to hear from you if you are keen to join the Australia Post team: https://auspost.com.au/jobs
Our strategy during COVID-19 has been clear: Protect our people, Serve the community and Safeguard our business, this is as important to us today, as it was when we began. We are so proud of how committed our people are to keep themselves, their colleagues and their community members safe, and we thank the Australian people for their support of our workforce in these extraordinary times.
