Australian Post franchisees say they’re being squeezed by the online shopping boom.

The franchisees says they’re not being sufficiently compensated for the surge in parcels due to online shopping.

The Licensed Post Office Group (LPOs) says there hasn’t been an increase in the sorting rate since 1993.

“We are the best asset that Australia Post has and we are the most undervalued part of their network,” said group member Angela Cramp.

“They cannot hope to service Australia-wide without the LPOs.”

LPOs make up about two-thirds of Australia’s national postal outlet network, with there more than 2,900 LPOs.

Franchisees receive 29 cents per parcel sorted.

Parcel rates have been steadily rising the last couple of years as online shopping has become more popular.

This has been in tandem with a significant fall in letters, which are easier, and therefore more profitable, for franchisees to handle.

Independent senator, Nick Xenophon, is lobbying for a Senate inquiry into the handling rate for parcels.

Last week, Graeme Samuel, a former head of the competition watchdog, said the federal government should sell Australia Post.

Samuel, who chaired the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) from 2003 to 2011, said Australia’s postage services don’t belong in government hands.

Christmas cheer

In other news, Australia Post is set to open for business seven days a week in the lead up to Christmas in 2013.

The postal service trialled the opening hours last Christmas, instead of its usual Monday to Friday hours.

The holiday service for Australia Post’s Parcel and Express Post will launch mid-November and run until Christmas Eve.