Private postal operators yesterday called on the incoming German government to create an effectivelevel playing-field in the liberalised mail German market with the removal of competitive barriers
such as VAT exemption and unregulated pricing at Deutsche Post, and an end to the sector-wideminimum wage.The demands were made jointly at a press conference in Berlin by four associations: theinternational express and parcel operators association (BIEK), the private mail employersassociation (AGV NBZ), the courier, express and parcels association (BdKEP), representing SMEs, andthe customer association DVPT. The first three organisations represent companies employing morethan 100,000 people in Germany in total.
Gunnar Uldall, BIEK president, stressed that Deutsche Post still profited from its VATexemption for all letters and small parcels despite an April 2009 European Court of Justicedecision which ruled against this status. The new government needed to act quickly to avoid legalaction by the European Commission over a breach of EU law, he said.
“BIEK demands the elimination of this privilege and its limitation to those services whichare provided due to a legal or public obligation for generally applicable prices,” he declared.There was no justification for a fiscal advantage for Deutsche Post since it provided the universalservice in Germany on a voluntary basis, he added. “We need a clear law: everyone must charge VAT.”
An obligation for Deutsche Post to charge VAT like private competitors was more realisticthan exemption for all operators since this would generate an additional €500 million in taxationrevenues, Uldall added. But VAT should only be charged for business post and private mail wouldremain VAT-free, he said.
Florian Gerster, president of the private mail operators association, which represents morethan 30 companies with about 29,000 employees, stressed that the postal minimum wage of up to €9.80per hour that was introduced in January 2008 had resulted in insolvencies and the loss of 19,000jobs, according to the regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur. “The Bundesnetzagentur figures tell aclear story. The postal minimum wage proves how damaging an excessive minimum wage is, and we callon the new government to remove the excessive postal minimum wage immediately,” he declared.Private postal operators could live with a minimum wage of €7.50 an hour, he commented.
After two lower courts had ruled against the postal minimum wage, the association wasconfident of winning a third court verdict in the German federal administrative court later thisyear or early next year, Gerster added.
Asked how many firms are actually paying the minimum wage at present in view of the ongoinglegal appeals against it, Gerster admitted that the wage was not actively being enforced atpresent. However, mail operators with public sector customers were being forced to pay the minimumwage while others were setting aside reserves in case they were obliged to pay later, he said.
Rudolf Pfeiffer, BdKEP chairman, demanded the imposition of regulatory controls over DeutschePost prices for large customers in view of its dominant market position. The ex-monopolist had an “aggressive” pricing policy and had already increased its official discounts for large customersfrom 22% to 25% in 2008. Since then, private operators had lost contracts with such customers wherethe discount must have been higher than this level, he added.
Ralf Wojtek, BIEK president, claimed that Deutsche Post paid sizeable kickbacks to largecustomers to retain or win back their business, but said this was difficult to prove due to a lackof hard evidence.
Addressing next year’s expected review of the universal postal service in Germany in view ofthe third EU Postal Directive, DVPT president Elmar Müller demanded the retention of the current12,000 postal outlets and 108,000 postboxes in the country. “It’s absolutely necessary to have asix-day service,” he added. This could be based on weekday deliveries and a premium Saturdayservice, he said.
