Postal Service to Reconsider Reorganization

The Swiss Postal Service declared on Wednesday that it will reconsider its controversial decision to reform its mail processing system. As its CEO, Ulrich Gygi, told media representatives in Berne, after talks with the trade unions the Postal Service has decided to examine alternatives to a project which would reduce the present 18 letter-sorting centers to only three facilities. The Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK), along with most political parties, welcomed the decision. By concentrating its mail processing activities, the Postal Service was hoping to save some Sfr. 200 million annually – but the change would have cost about 3,500 employees their jobs.
Announcement of the proposed reorganization triggered a storm of protest from trade unions and from the cantons. “As property of the federal government, the Postal Service must take account of the political realities,” Gygi declared. That is why talks were opened with the unions, he continued. Last Tuesday, Gygi revealed, the parties concerned had agreed to examine other ways of reforming the mail processing system, the point being to find solutions which are better socially, in terms of personnel and from the standpoint of regional policy, but which at the same time would not endanger the economic sense of the undertaking. It might be possible, for example, to supplement the three centralized letter-sorting centers will smaller regional units. Yet another variant, Gygi explained, might be to operate with five instead of just three mail-sorting facilities.