Rewrite the title: Reproduce the post - Postal Act Revamp: Traffic Light Coalition approved a compromise
The revision of the outdated Postal Law is gaining momentum. Members of the traffic light alliance in the German Parliament recently announced in Berlin that they have reached a compromise. The demand from the SPD and the Greens for a ban on sub-subcontracting, which involves assigning already externally awarded contracts to another contractor, has been abandoned. Instead, the parties are relying on relatively strict control obligations.
Additionally, subcontractors are to be required to, for example, keep track of working hours. Authorities could then compare these data with the data collected when packages are handed over, and thus violations of the Working Hours Act could be detected. The newspaper Handelsblatt had reported on this earlier.
Controversy over package delivery by two people
It was also a point of contention whether packages over 20 kilos should only be delivered by two people. The alliance representatives have agreed that this should be the norm, unless a suitable technical aid is available. In such cases, single-person delivery is also permitted. What constitutes such aid is to be determined by the SPD-led Federal Labor Ministry in a supplementary ordinance within six months.
"The most important aspect of the law is that we strengthen labor protection in the parcel sector and take measures against abuse in parcel delivery," said Sebastian Roloff, an SPD member of the Bundestag.
The Postal Law has served since 1998
The Postal Law has been in effect in its essential parts since 1998. Therefore, it was last comprehensively reformed when online trading was still in its infancy, and letters played a crucial role in people's everyday communication. Since then, the demand has evolved - letters have become obsolete due to emails and chat messages, and the number of packages has been growing steadily.
Letter delivery will take longer
The proposal from the federal government calling for reduced time pressure for the post in the future was widely accepted in the negotiations between the traffic light coalition. Currently, the post must deliver 80% of the letters on the next working day and 95% on the next working day. The new obligation would be to deliver only from the third day after the letter is placed in the mailbox.
This reduced time pressure would enable the post to lower its costs. Its nighttime inland delivery by airplane, which it recently discontinued, was questionable from an ecological perspective. For consumers, this means that they will have to wait longer on average for a letter.
Green Parliament members ease concerns on the environment
The postal services will become more environmentally friendly, said Green Bundestag member Sandra Detzer. "Night flights are now a thing of the past, and up to 80% of the emissions can be saved." Reinhard Houben from the FDP commented that the new Postal Law would ensure competition in the parcel market. "Consumers benefit from this."
In a joint statement, the Greens, SPD, and FDP expressed their satisfaction with the progress. "The red-green-yellow coalition once again demonstrates its ability to act: We tackle complex issues and make this country future-proof," said Detzer.
After an agreement was reached following lengthy negotiations, it is now expected that things will move swiftly. On Wednesday, the legislative proposal is set to be presented to the Economic Committee of the Bundestag, and by the end of the week, it is to be discussed in the plenary session. If the Bundesrat agrees in July, the law could be enacted before the summer break.
