Today we send 80 per cent fewer letters than in the year 2000. CEO of Posten Christian Brandt says something has to happen. Today, mail is delivered every other day. That is unlikely to be the case in the future. – Walking every other day for a long time is not sustainable, says Brandt. – And what will be the consequence of that? – That you look at what the wonderful network can be used for, which creates much greater social benefit than delivering letters every other day. Can’t come up with tasks Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård agrees that something must be done. He has therefore set up a committee. The postal committee will be chaired by Elisabeth Sørbøe Aarsæther, who is head of the Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB). During the next year, they will come up with proposals for the future of postal services. – The fall in the volume of letters after the turn of the millennium has been extremely large, which means that the cost per remaining letter that is sent will be very high. Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård is setting up an expert committee to propose what the future of postal services should look like. He rejects that they should invent new tasks for the postmen at any cost. – We must not invent employment to maintain something that cannot be defended in the future. It must be socially beneficial. Letter-in-shop If Posten were free, there would be an end to letters being delivered straight to your home in the letterbox. Instead, you would have to pick up the letter at post-in-shops or at pick-up points. But they are not free. The government pays Posten for unprofitable routes, so everyone must be visited by the postman every other day. But the price tag is getting higher and higher: in 2021 this will cost the state just over 500 million. With letter writing still falling, the sum will be around 2 billion in 2027. All letter mail in Norway is sorted in one facility in Lørenskog. In this one machine, 40,000 letters are sorted per hour. From letter courier to “doorstep service” According to Posten, approximately 2,000 man-years would have been saved if Posten stopped delivering mail to postboxes. The alternative would have been for people to pick up their letters at collection points. But, one thing at a time. The new committee will first assess whether the postmen can be given a new type of role. If they can be given other tasks than just delivering mail. One such possibility is a doorstep service. This means that the postman delivers letters directly to the door of the elderly and others who do not use digital services. At the same time, the postman can bring information from the municipality, the fire service or contribute to the activation of the elderly. Such a trial scheme is already underway in several municipalities, in collaboration with KS. Natalia Olszewska works as a postman in Oslo. – I like being out and meeting people. Older people in particular are very nice to talk to, says Olszewska. Photo: Knut Are Tornås Viable workplaces Gerd Øiahals is the main shop steward at Posten and will sit on the newly appointed committee. She believes that it is possible to find new and important tasks for the 2,000 employees who will be affected, if the posts are to stop delivering mail to letterboxes. – We are not going to save a job just to save a job. We hope to help make this possible so that we can still have viable jobs as postmen. Chief shop steward in Posten Bring AS for the Trade Union Photo: Knut Are Tornås – Is there really a need for postmen in the future? – Maybe not the postman as you know it today, but the job they perform is quite unique around Norway and perhaps especially around the district.
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Committee to assess the future of postal services – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
