Finland deliberating delivering mail only three times a week

Finland is considering switching the postal delivery and collection system from five days a week to three days a week, it was reported Monday.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications on Monday submitted a description of a reduced service level for public discussion.

Decline of mailing has made the five-day distribution economically unviable to Posti, or Finnish state-owned post company, but for the time being the law requires a five-day delivery.

Minister of Transport and Communication Anne Berner said in a press release that the suggestions were not policy goals of the ministry, but part of the preparation for a new postal act.

A memorandum distributed by the Ministry on Monday also envisaged a slower speed for letters and the acceptance of delivering mail to boxes at the basement of a condo building instead of to each apartment separately.

The three-day idea was met with dismay within the newspaper industry. Tomi Lahdeniemi, editor-in-chief of Satakunnan Kansa, said reduced deliveries would impair democracy and increase inequality in distant areas.

Besides the decline in the number of letters, the national postal service has lost an appreciable amount of its package business to private delivery companies. The postal service has had to reorganize and lay off people and that in turn has triggered labor action. Endit