Leading Social Democratic politicians within Germany’s ruling coalition government have called fora delay to the planned full liberalisation of the country’s postal market on January 1, 2008. The
comments are linked to a broader campaign for legally-fixed minimum wages for a number of low-wageindustries.The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that vice-chancellor Franz Müntefering and finance ministerPeer Steinbrück warned during an internal meeting of leading coalition members on Monday (January29) that the conditions for complete and fair opening of the postal market do not exist.
Müntefering was worried that competitors could take on Deutsche Post in the future by paying “ dumping wages”. Rival postal companies were already using part-time or “mini-job” employees todeliver letters, and some were even using schoolchildren, he commented. Steinbrück was concernedthat foreign competitors will be able to enter the German market while their domestic marketsremain partly closed.
Müntefering called for the introduction of a legally-fixed minimum wage, already planned forsectors such as construction, agriculture and retail, to be extended to the postal industry. TheSocial Democrat-led minimum wage plan faces massive opposition from the Christian Democratcoalition partners. Chancellor Angela Merkel is against a legal minimum wage but open forindustry-specific solutions.
Earlier this month, Dagmar Wöhrl, state secretary in the German economics ministry, which isresponsible for the postal sector, declared in a newspaper article: “Germany will completely openthe national mail market on January 1, 2008.” The remaining postal monopoly of Deutsche Post fordomestic letters under 50g would be abolished at the end of 2007 even if other EU countries delayedopening their domestic postal markets.
The European Commission has proposed that all EU postal markets should be fully liberalisedwith effect from January 2009. This proposal is due to be debated and decided during Germany’s EUpresidency in the first half of 2007. But up to a dozen EU states have already expressed certainabout the impact of liberalisation on the financing of their universal postal service.
