BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The reform of the outdated Postal Act has cleared another hurdle. On Wednesday, the Bundestag's Economic Affairs Committee adopted a proposal that had previously been agreed by representatives of the traffic light coalition. The plenary is due to give its approval on Thursday, with the Bundesrat taking its turn in July. If the Upper House also gives the green light, the Postal Act would be fundamentally reformed for the first time since 1998. Back then, letters were far more important than they are today, and online commerce and its parcel volumes were still in their infancy.

According to the draft law, which was approved by a majority of the committee, Deutsche Post will have less time pressure in future. It will only have to deliver 95 percent of the letters posted today within three working days. Currently, the requirement applies to the second working day after posting. This will enable Swiss Post to reduce costs and dispense with domestic letter delivery by plane, thereby making progress in climate protection and reducing costs. For consumers, this means that they will have to wait longer on average for a letter.

Other parts of the reform are about improving working conditions in the sector. For example, parcels weighing more than 20 kilograms will generally only be delivered by two people in future - unless suitable technical aids are available, in which case one-person delivery will also be permitted. Subcontractors, whose use is viewed very critically by trade unions in particular, are to be monitored more effectively in future.

The use of letter and parcel machines will also be made easier. In future, they can be counted towards the fulfillment of a branch network obligation. It is therefore possible that in future more machines will be installed in some villages and on the outskirts of towns than before and that there will no longer be a branch where a person operates. However, local authority associations are to be consulted on this and the Federal Network Agency is to be involved./wdw/DP/stk