It has been more than a quarter of a century since federal politicians last really took on the postal law – since then, rules have been in place that seem rather outdated in the digital age.
The reform of the outdated postal law is making progress. Representatives of the traffic light coalition in the Bundestag announced in Berlin that they had agreed on a compromise. The ban on sub-subcontractors – i.e. the passing on of contracts that have already been outsourced – demanded by the SPD and the Greens is off the table. Instead, the factions are relying on relatively strict control obligations.
In addition, subcontractors will be required to keep information on working hours, among other things. Authorities could compare this information with the data recorded when parcels were delivered – and thus identify violations of the Working Hours Act. The “Handelsblatt” had previously reported this.
Uncertainty regarding packages weighing 20 kilos or more
There was also disagreement about whether packages weighing 20 kilos or more should only be delivered by two people. The coalition representatives agreed that this should be the rule, unless a suitable technical aid is available. In this case, one-person delivery is also permitted. The SPD-led Federal Ministry of Labor is to clarify what this aid can be in a supplementary regulation within six months.
“What is particularly important in the law is that we strengthen occupational safety in the parcel sector and take measures against abuse in parcel delivery,” said SPD member of the Bundestag Sebastian Roloff.
Postal law has been in force since 1998
The main parts of the postal law have been in force since 1998. The last time it was comprehensively reformed was when online shopping was still in the early days of school and letters played a central role in people’s everyday communication. Since then, demand has changed fundamentally – letters have gone out of fashion in the face of emails and chat messages, and the number of packages has been rising for a long time.
Sending letters will take longer
The federal government’s proposal that the post office should be under less time pressure in the future was largely undisputed in the negotiations between the traffic light coalition. Currently, it has to deliver 80 percent of letters on the next working day and 95 percent on the day after that. In future, this mandatory figure will only be reached on the third day after they are put in the mailbox.
This reduced time pressure allows the post office to reduce costs. It recently stopped sending domestic letters by plane at night. These domestic flights were questionable in terms of climate protection in view of the CO2 emissions. For consumers, this means that they will wait a little longer on average for a letter.
Traffic light representative relieved
Postal services would be made more environmentally friendly, said Sandra Detzer, member of the Green Party in the Bundestag. “Night flights are a thing of the past and up to 80 percent of emissions can be saved.” Reinhard Houben of the FDP said that the new postal law would ensure competition in the parcel market. “Consumers will benefit from this.”
The postal law proves the coalition’s ability to act, said a joint statement by the Greens, SPD and FDP. “The red-green-yellow coalition proves once again that we are tackling difficult issues and making this country fit for the future,” said Detzer.
After the coalition partners reached an agreement after long negotiations, things are now set to move quickly: the proposed law is to be presented to the Bundestag’s Economic Committee on Wednesday and to the plenary session by the end of the week. If the Bundesrat approves it in July, the law would be passed before the summer break.
Source: Stern
