Unions launch push to save European post’s 1.8 million jobs and guarantee of universal, affordable service

Trade unions representing postal workers across Europe, consumer groups and EU lawmakers today launched a campaign to modernise Europe’s postal service. At a forum to Save Our Post In Brussels, they called on the European Commission to deliver an ambitious EU Delivery Act that protects the jobs of 1.8 million postal workers, guarantees affordable delivery of letters and parcels and ensures private operators contribute fairly to public postal infrastructure. The EU Delivery Act was announced in the Single Market Strategy in May 2025.

Speaking at the forum, Oliver Roethig, Regional Secretary of UNI Europa, which represents postal unions across Europe, said: “This is a defining moment for Europe’s postal sector – and for Europe itself. The EU Delivery Act is not a technical file, but a political choice: whether to allow a two-tier labour market – or set fair rules for all. The new act must include the right to receive parcels, ensure private operators pay their fair share and apply collective bargaining across the sector. Competition cannot be built on worker exploitation.”

Over the last decade, letter volumes have halved, while parcel delivery has surged, in particular since the Covid-19 pandemic’s e-commerce boom. At the event, UNI Europa presented seven principles to modernise the postal service, calling for a fair, sustainable and socially responsible EU Delivery Act.

Jens Saverstam, President of UNI Europa Post & Logistics, said: “I have spent all my life in the postal world. Whether it is raining, whether it is snowing, whether it is in rural areas, whether it is on islands, postal workers are always there to deliver letters and parcels.”

At the heart of union’s push for modernisation is an extension of the “universal service obligation” – the promise that every European resident can have affordable access to the post – from letters to parcels. Postal liberalisation has enabled private operators to focus on profitable urban routes, while public services have been left to maintain costly universal coverage – particularly in rural and remote areas.

Agostino Siciliano, General Secretary of European Federation of Retired and Elderly Persons (FERPA), which make up 25 per cent of the European population, endorsed the campaign: “The postal service must deliver older people, disabled people, isolated people, people in rural communities, and that must include parcels. At the moment, competition is not regulated – this could deprive us of an essential service.”

Stéphane Chevet, Vice-President of the European Social Dialogue Committee for Postal Services, added: “The postal service should be considered a public infrastructure that plays a crucial role in the territorial, economic and social cohesion. Even in urban areas in France – in the so-called quartiers populaires – we have zones that not considered profitable by private companies. That’s why we need the universal service obligation.”

Platforms and delivery companies like Amazon often use their own private networks, which rely on more precarious forms of work: bogus self-employment, layered subcontracting and oppressive algorithmic management. This creates unfair competition based not on better service, but who can squeeze the most out of delivery workers. In this context, EU lawmakers voiced their support for an ambitious reform.

Johan Danielsson, S&D Member of European Parliament and Member of the Committee for transport and tourism (TRAN), which is leading the European Parliament on the reform, said: “We must invest in postal networks, not dismantle them. The universal service obligation must include parcels. And we must stop unfair competition to make sure that only serious companies operate in the delivery space.”

Leïla Chaibi, Member of European Parliament for The Left and Member of the Employment Committee, which will draft an opinion on the reform, said: “We support UNI Europa’s proposals for a general reform that brings all operators under one regulatory roof to avoid social dumping, to respect workers’ rights and collective bargaining.”

Consumer groups are also concerned about the negative impacts of a weak reform on the accessibility and affordability of postal services for disadvantaged groups.

Herbert Weißensteiner from ANEC, which represents millions of consumers across Europe, said: “Consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on online platforms for essential shopping. But the private delivery operators are in no way obliged to deliver to every address in Europe. That’s why we need a strong and functioning universal service that delivers letters and parcels reliably to all addresses at affordable and uniform prices.”

A representative from the European Commission shared an update on the EU Delivery Act’s goals, both in the context of the EU’s wider Preparedness Strategy and to develop a modern universal service obligation, and a financially sustainable and resilient network.

Edit Komáromi, Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission’s DG Grow, gave an example from Ukraine: “In Ukraine, the postal service is essential – and the Ukrainian workers and service are a target by the Russian aggressor. It means the postal service is an important network. We must reflect how this can be maintained in the future framework.”

Esther Lynch, ETUC General Secretary, concluded: “For so many older people, the postal service is a lifeline. And saving the post is about protecting the promise to all citizens that you will be able to send and receive a letter and parcels. That’s why the European Trade Union Confederation fully supports the Save Our Post campaign.”