Anyone waiting for urgent letters in the digital age will probably have to be a little more patient in the future.
On Friday, the Federal Ministry of Economics presented a reform proposal for the postal law, according to which the postal service should have less time pressure when transporting letters.
So far, the group has to deliver at least 80 percent of the letters submitted on the following working day. This requirement should be removed. Instead, the post office is said to have delivered at least 95 percent of the letters to the recipients on the third working day after they were posted. On the fourth working day it should be 99 percent. There has not yet been such a high compulsory value. But it shouldn’t pose any serious problems for the postal service.
Post can reduce costs
With less time pressure, the ministry is accommodating the company, which can therefore reduce costs and do without its night flights, which fly through Germany to deliver letters and emit the greenhouse gas CO2. In the digital age, the volume of letters has been declining for a long time as people rely more and more on electronic communication. For years the amount had fallen by two to three percent. This development has accelerated recently. So far this year, the post office has recorded a decline of around six percent in the number of letters transported.
While the quantity goes down, the cost stays about the same. Ultimately, as a so-called universal service provider, the group has to deliver letters everywhere in Germany and maintain an appropriate fleet of vehicles, mailboxes and branches. Other companies do not have such an obligation.
Last major reform in the last millennium
The postal law was last comprehensively reformed in 1999 – at a time when the Internet played no role for many people and letters were still often used for birthday greetings or invitations. Today, such communication has largely shifted to digital channels.
The requirement to be present should be relaxed somewhat: There will still be at least 12,000 post offices in the future – mostly supermarkets or kiosks with a post office counter. Larger villages should also continue to have a location for the yellow giant. So far, the DHL postal company has not been able to count machines where you can buy stamps and drop off or pick up packages towards this attendance requirement. This should be possible in certain cases. However, this requires the approval of the Federal Network Agency.
The position of the network agency is strengthened
The Bonn supervisory authority should have a sharper sword in the future in order to be able to take action against any grievances on the part of the logistics company. So far, it has not been able to impose any fines or penalty payments on the universal service provider – this should be possible in the future. Last year, more citizens complained to the network agency about postal quality deficiencies than ever before, such as late or incorrectly delivered items. The company attributed the deficiencies to staff shortages. In view of the wave of complaints, Netzagentur boss Klaus Müller called for the possibility of sanctions. This should be granted to his authority.
The FDP member of the Bundestag Reinhard Houben rated this aspect of the reform positively. “If the position of the Federal Network Agency is significantly strengthened in the amendment to the law, the interests of consumers will certainly be taken more into account,” said the Liberal.
Price cap for the next postage increase
The law does not regulate how expensive it will be to send different types of letters. The law only sets certain guidelines for this – the network agency sets a scope for increases that the post office can then use. Part of the proposed law could still play a role if the postal service wants to increase its postage by January 2025. Because there is a kind of emergency brake. This would prevent the postage for a standard letter from rising from 85 cents to more than one euro during the next increase.
“Capping postage at one euro per standard letter protects consumers from high postage jumps, as had to happen in other European countries,” said Green Bundestag member Sandra Detzer, assessing the legislative proposal from the Green-led ministry positively. “We are strengthening fair competition with high social and ecological standards between providers.”
Verdi’s demand is met
The ministry is also suggesting that heavy parcels must be marked so that parcel carriers do not misjudge when unloading and get back problems if the load is too heavy. The Verdi union had campaigned for a similar rule.
The ministry proposal should go through the federal cabinet before Christmas. The reform could be completed in the spring.
Post reacts cautiously to reform plans for the postal market
Deutsche Post has reacted cautiously to the ministry’s plans to reform the postal law. The draft recognizes some realities, it said in a statement on Friday evening. People’s communication behavior has changed and the volume of letters has declined significantly. The company is critical of regulations with which the government wants to strengthen competition among postal services. The company said it cannot yet be assessed whether the draft would enable an economically viable universal postal service.
The Federal Ministry of Economics presented a reform proposal for the postal law on Friday. Among other things, the post office should have less time pressure when transporting letters. The ministry proposal should go through the federal cabinet before Christmas. The reform could be completed in the spring. After the DHL Group share finally rose following the announcement in XETRA trading, it rose by a further 1.57 percent to 41.75 euros in after-hours trading on Tradegate.
BERLIN (dpa-AFX)
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