Anyone who still occasionally waits for a letter, even in the digital age, may find their patience stretched a little in the future. Because the shipping time will probably be longer.
As a result of the planned reform of the postal law, sending a letter will most likely take significantly longer in the future. There is no sign of any significant resistance from the Bundestag factions of various parties in a central aspect of the amendment: regulations on so-called letter delivery times should be relaxed so that the postal service can reduce its costs.
This aspect of reform is undisputed, dpa learned from the SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU. The reason given was that demand had changed due to digitalization and it was no longer so important that a letter arrived as quickly as possible. What is more important is that it arrives reliably.
80 percent of letters delivered the next day
So far, Deutsche Post has to deliver at least 80 percent of the letters posted on the next working day, and on the second working day the value must be 95 percent. Because of this time pressure, planes are still flying around Germany at night to bring letters from the south to the north and vice versa.
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics’ proposal, in the future there should be a requirement that 95 percent of letters reach the recipient on the third day after they are posted and 99 percent on the fourth day. With this reduced time pressure, the postal service could reduce costs and cancel night flights. For consumers, however, this means that the waiting time for letters will be longer on average than before.
Newspaper industry concerned
However, the post office not only transports letters, parcels and parcels, but increasingly also newspapers and magazines. In view of the new delivery times, publishers are concerned that their print editions sent by post will reach customers late. If delivery is delayed by a day or two, many loyal readers will be frustrated and their subscriptions will be canceled.
“We want our readers to receive their newspapers and magazines delivered by post on time,” emphasize the Media Association of the Free Press (MVFP) and the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) in a joint statement.
After an initial debate in the Bundestag, internal consultations between specialist politicians are now beginning, and the amendment to the law is expected to be completed in the spring. The question of whether the use of subcontractors will be restricted is still controversial. The Federal Council is even calling for a ban on subcontractors who are not bound by collective agreements – these are probably most of these companies that have previously worked as contractors.
Source: Stern
