Tens of thousands of postal workers rally in Berlin over new postal law, fearing job losses

« More than 30,000 German postal workers gathered at the Brandenburg Gate on Monday to protest against a new postal competition law. Among the measures the law calls for are the development of social and environmental standards as well as the development of competition in the postal market.
“We are concerned about jobs in delivery, we are concerned about jobs in the mail centres in transport but also in the position management and department management,” said Thomas Held, Deputy Chairman, Central Works Council of Deutsche Post AG, addressing the massive gathering.
Held also drew attention to the disparity in subsidies provided to former state postal companies across Europe.
“Here in Europe, the former state postal companies receive subsidies worth millions to provide universal service, in recent years in Spain over 3.8 billion In France over 2.3 billion and even in a relatively small country Belgium 1.6 billion euros,” he noted.
« In Germany, there is only sales tax exemption, that has to be changed, » he added.
Protesters voiced their frustration, stating that their demands and concerns had largely been ignored in previous attempts to reform the law. They fear that the impending legal changes could jeopardize their jobs.
The protest was attended by postal workers from across Germany who travelled to Berlin on 500 buses from 56 locations, according to local media reports. Workers in Bad Hersfeld, Leipzig, Koblenz, Reinberg and Werne and in Berlin are expected to strike in the coming hours.
The last time Germany’s postal law changed significantly was in 1999, but much has changed in the postal service since then, such as people sending fewer letters but more parcels. »



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