Two-class delivery: soon a new letter system at the post office?

If you want your letters sooner, you could pay more for them in the future. Swiss Post is considering introducing two-class delivery of letters. The federal government is considering a reform of the postal law.

Deutsche Post is considering converting the letter system to what is known as two-class letter delivery. “The consumer can decide at what speed his letter is transported,” said Group HR Director Thomas Ogilvie to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “In terms of the range of offers, I think that’s a good step.”

However, the new express letter would probably be more expensive for consumers. However, this principle of two-class letter delivery exists in many European countries, said Ogilvie. A reduction in letter delivery to five days a week, on the other hand, is not a goal that is currently being pursued.

Reform of the Postal Law

However, this also requires a legal basis. The postal law currently stipulates that the post office must deliver 80 percent of letters within one day. The federal government is now considering a reform of the postal law towards a kind of two-class letter delivery. “There are letters that are urgent and must arrive safely the next day,” said State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Franziska Brantner (Greens), of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.

For other shipments, on the other hand, the legal requirement of delivery within one day can be waived. “That would also help the climate, because a significantly larger proportion of the shipments could be transported by rail and environmentally harmful cargo flights could be dispensed with,” Brantner continued.

The postal group has repeatedly missed the target of delivering 80 percent of letters within one day. Complaints have increased in recent years, with Swiss Post referring to a high level of sick leave and a general lack of staff.

Letter no discontinued model

The Post Human Resources Director was convinced that the letter is not a discontinued model, despite the recent decline in mail volumes in Germany. “Ultimately, the state needs a functioning letter service,” Ogilvie told the Funke newspapers. However, the amount will continue to decrease.

The Post is therefore planning to compensate for the decline by means of combined delivery. Postmen also deliver small packages. “In the country, parcels and letters are already delivered by one person. We could also extend the principle to more regions to keep the letter service affordable,” said Ogilvie.

Swiss Post in wage dispute with ver.di

The union ver.di is currently in a collective bargaining dispute with Swiss Post. ver.di is demanding a 15 percent increase in salary and an increase in training allowances for each year of training by EUR 200 per month over a period of one year. A strike ballot scheduled by the union has been underway since today.

Ogilvie said in the Funke newspapers that he saw no further scope for concessions in the collective bargaining dispute. The existing offer is the “maximum of what we can represent if we want to be the post office for Germany tomorrow as we know it today.”

In the wage dispute with the trade union ver.di, Deutsche Post wants to consider outsourcing its activities to a greater extent. So far, the post office in Germany has worked exclusively with its own staff, according to Ogilvie. “If ver.di now questions all of this against the background of short-term maximum wage increases, we will have to rethink our operating model.” The question arises as to whether Swiss Post can and wants to continue to operate locations itself “or whether we outsource them”.