Postal Act: Cabinet votes in favor of longer letter delivery times and complaints office
Until now, standard letters in the universal service had to arrive the next day with a probability of 80% and 95% on the second working day. In future, there will no longer be fixed targets for the first two days. Then 95% of standard letters in the universal service should reach the recipient on the third working day and 99% must be in the letterbox on the fourth working day.
The previous targets are costly. The proposals that have now been adopted will ensure a "nationwide and affordable supply of letters and parcels to people", according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. "Superfluous night flights for the transportation of letters" would be abolished. Large parts of the current Postal Act date back to the 1990s.
The amendment, which still has to be approved by the Bundestag and Bundesrat, will also improve working conditions in the sector. For example, mandatory labeling is to be introduced for parcels weighing over ten kilograms and parcels weighing over 20 kilograms will no longer have to be carried alone. In addition, a complaints office is to be set up at the Federal Network Agency to which minimum wage violations in the sector can be reported.
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- The adoption of the new proposals for longer letter delivery times in the Postal Act has been welcomed by deutsche post, as it will help reduce the high costs associated with meeting the previous delivery targets.
- Critics argue that the changes to the Postal Act will significantly increase letter delivery times, leading to potential longer wait times for important correspondence and potential complaints from customers.
- The German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) has stated that the new Postal Act will bring about improvements in working conditions for postal workers, including the introduction of mandatory labeling for heavy parcels and relief from carrying large, heavy packages alone.
- Under the new Postal Act, the Complaints office at the Federal Network Agency will become the main point of contact for reporting minimum wage violations in the postal sector, ensuring that workers' rights are protected and enforced.
- While the amendments to the Postal Act have received support from some sectors, there are concerns that the longer delivery times and changes to parcel handling may impact the quality of customer service provided by deutsche post and other postal carriers, potentially leading to increased complaints and dissatisfaction in the long term.
Source: www.stern.de
