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Deutsche Post should be given more time to deliver letters. So far, the following applies: Delivery takes place on the next working day. In theory anyway.
“No mail comes for four days and then a whole bunch of it arrives at once,” says Winfried Flügge from Speyer in Rhineland-Palatinate. He regularly has to wait a long time for letters, even though sometimes they contain important documents. For example, once he received an urgently awaited doctor’s prescription for his wife. “When it still wasn’t there after six days, we called the doctor again.” He had long since sent the letter, and in the end the recipe was on the way for a whole week.
Clear timelines
And this despite the fact that, according to the current postal law, the post office has to deliver 80 percent of letters after one working day. After two working days, 95 percent should actually reach the recipient. This doesn’t work everywhere. Across Germany, around 40,000 customers complained to the responsible Federal Network Agency last year.
The SWR-Broadcast On the matter of Rhineland-Palatinate took the test and sent 20 letters from different locations in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse to the same address. The result: All letters arrived with the same delivery – after three working days.
More reliable in the future, but slower?
The new postal law is intended to make mail more reliable. In return, she gets more time to deliver letters. The goal is for 95 percent of the letters to arrive after three days. On the fourth working day it should be 99 percent. The reform is necessary for the Federal Network Agency. The situation has changed due to digitalization, fewer letters being sent and more packages being sent. A new law must respond to this.
The responsible Federal Ministry of Economics justifies the reform by saying that smaller volumes of letters presented the postal service with logistical and financial challenges. “The costs of the letter network must be spread over fewer and fewer letters,” writes the ministry when asked.
If you are in a hurry, the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center advises sending registered mail or registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt instead of standard letters. The ordinary letter is becoming increasingly less important. Post customers “don’t necessarily prefer the fastest delivery, but rather the most reliable,” the consumer advice center says, citing its own surveys.
“Pure profit maximization”
The longer delivery times are a clear loss of quality, says Jürgen Knoll from the ver.di Ludwigshafen union. For the same postage you wait longer for the letter.
Knoll also fears that the postal service could cut jobs after the reform. “If I only deliver every three days, I need fewer people. That’s pure profit maximization.” And this despite the fact that there is already a shortage of staff.
Stricter rules for subcontractors
One goal of the Federal Ministry of Economics is to improve the working conditions for delivery workers – especially for those who not only deliver letters but also parcels. Many companies in the industry work with subcontractors; small companies that handle delivery in certain regions. “They don’t have a works council or a collective agreement,” says Knoll. “We urgently need a ban on subcontractors.”
The Ministry of Economic Affairs doesn’t go that far. After the reform, clients will have to regularly check whether their subcontractors meet certain criteria. In addition, the employees should be relieved of physical strain. The messengers will then only be allowed to deliver heavy packages weighing 20 kilograms or more in pairs or with technical support such as an electric hand truck.
More post machines planned in the branch network
In order to be able to use the post office throughout Germany, it is legally obliged to operate a nationwide branch network. In parts of Germany this network has gaps. Supermarkets that used to house post offices have often closed and the post office cannot find new partners.
After the reform, postal machines will also fill the gaps. The Federal Network Agency should decide on this in individual cases. The authority should also be able to oblige the post office to open branches in poorly connected regions.
Higher postage not excluded
The Federal Ministry of Economics writes that the law should not regulate whether letter postage continues to rise. The Federal Network Agency should still have the final say on price increases. By the end of 2024, a standard letter will cost 85 cents. For its part, the postal service has already announced that it wants to increase postage due to increased costs.
The Federal Ministry of Economics believes the reform is necessary because the postal law has not been changed since 1998. The Bundestag and Bundesrat still have to agree. The bill is scheduled to be debated in the Bundestag for the first time in February.