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UNI applauds Swiss union victory against liberalisation, the public postal service is saved!



The Swiss parliament has decided to give up full liberalisation of the postal service. The arguments endlessly repeated by the Swiss Communications Union have paid off: the National Council has given up on a total liberalisation of the postal market. It recognises that maintaining a monopoly on letters up to 50g is the only way to preserve a high quality universal service available to the entire population at a moderate price. But the Act dealt with today at the National Post is not perfect either. The Communications Union has with its initiative from the 100,000 signature petition it presented last month, "For a strong position" a great way to correct the defects in this proposed new law.



"This is a great victory for the Union of Communication, but especially for all the users who demand the maintenance of a public postal service quality available to everyone, said Alain Carrupt, President of the union. "By refusing to conduct a full liberalisation of the postal market, the National Council has chosen to serve the public interest: that of the general population, small and medium enterprises, regions and outlying districts."



For years the union has been showing the folly of foreign examples of postal liberalisation to support their arguments: where they have said a liberalisation would mean a reduction of the range of universal services, lower quality, higher prices for the vast majority of users. The National Council has wisely rejected this perspective. It thereby recognized that a residual monopoly on letters up to 50 g was the simplest model and most effective to fund universal service.



The decisions of the National Council on other aspects of the review of postal legislation are less fortunate. With its support for agency post offices, the lower house opens the door to a dismantling of the postal network with a massive replacement of post offices by agencies. The Swiss Communications Union will continue to work to also stop this creeping privatisation of the postal network.