The revision of the Postal Act is far from unanimous. According to Keystone-SDA, as reported by SWI swissinfo.ch, the government’s plan drew criticism from both the left and the right of the political spectrum during the consultation procedure, which ended on Thursday. Swiss Post, for its part, welcomes the proposed changes. At this stage it is a preliminary draft: no amendment to the law has been adopted.

What the revision of the Postal Act aims to do

The government put its plan out for consultation in June. According to the dispatch, it seeks to respond to two developments: the decline in demand for traditional postal services and the expansion, by Swiss Post, of commercial activities that go beyond its core mandate.

The source does not detail all of the measures. However, the reactions reveal two parts of the text: a planned reduction in services from 2030 and rules governing company acquisitions by Swiss Post. The text of the preliminary draft is not linked in the dispatch.

Business circles call for more opening

On the right, business circles criticise the plan for not opening up the market enough. They also consider the planned restrictions on company acquisitions too lax. Underlying this is the question of competition between a state-owned company and private players when the former expands beyond its core business.

The left and the regions fear for the universal service

Left-wing parties and the regions, for their part, criticise the reduction in services planned from 2030. According to the dispatch, they fear a less dense postal network and fewer delivery days. These concerns relate to the universal service, that is, the basic services that the law guarantees to the entire population.

Swiss Post defends “dynamic regulation”

Swiss Post welcomes the envisaged changes, which it describes as “dynamic regulation”. The company stresses the importance of having room for manoeuvre.

Next steps

The dispatch specifies neither the timetable nor the exact course of the procedure. As a general rule, at the end of a consultation, the government analyses the opinions received, then decides whether to maintain, amend or abandon its plan. If it maintains it, it submits a bill to parliament, which can still amend or reject it. The criticism voiced during the consultation therefore carries no decision-making weight, any more than the preliminary draft itself.

Sources