Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
It’s something we take for granted, but receiving post six days a week might soon become something of the past. Deutsche Post is reportedly considering dropping Monday as a delivery day for private customers.
The most widely-used postal service in Germany, Deutsche Post, is toying with the idea of only delivering letters to private addresses five days a week, rather than six. According to board member Tobias Meyer, the question has arisen “whether we need nationwide mail delivery on Mondays in Germany.”
The delivery of company letters and parcels on Mondays is certainly necessary, said Meyer, but this is questionable in the case of private mail. According to Deutsche Post, less than two percent of weekly shipments occur on Mondays, since companies and authorities hardly post any letters at the weekend.
Delivery days are regulated by the so-called Postal Universal Service Ordinance, which gives Deutsche Post the constitutionally protected task of providing “comprehensive, appropriate and sufficient services” six days a week. However, Federal Economics Minister Peter Altmaier has been planning an amendment to this law for a long time and is now reportedly considering the proposal to deliver letters only five days a week.
At the end of 2019, the Monopolies Commission already proposed switching from six-day to five-day deliveries, which is already common practice in many countries across Europe. According to Commissioner Angelika Westerwelle, it would not only make it easier for rival postal companies to compete with Deutsche Post, but also reduce the latter’s overall costs, therefore bringing consumer prices down.
The plan was met with resistance from the unions, among others, due to concerns about jobs being put at risk. The issue could therefore play a prominent role in ongoing collective bargaining talks for Deutsche Post’s approximately 140.000 employees. Both this week and last week, thousands of workers across Germany took up the call to take part in warning strikes.
Ver.di is calling for salaries to be increased by 5,5 percent over the next 12 months - a request that Meyer deemed “irresponsible”, pointing to the 11 percent drop in letter volume in the first six months of 2020, the sharpest decline in the company’s history.