Postal Department should exist for benefit of masses

Last week, Postal Trade Unions Front Co-convener Chinthaka Bandara had remarked that the introduction of the GovPay online system – which enables digital payment of traffic fines – had caused a significant loss of income to the Postal Department. The trade union leader had opined that the Department would lose revenue in the range of Rs. 600 million to Rs. 800 million due to the departure from post office-based fine payments. 

Bandara had urged the Government to allow the Postal Department to continue handling traffic fine payments while opposing the introduction of the digital mechanism to pay fines although it offers massive convenience to the general public. 

Bandara’s remark symbolises the typical mindset of the trade unionists attached to the public sector while validating the oft-repeated notion communicated by this column that State-owned enterprises/entities exist primarily for the financial enrichment of their employees and not for the betterment of taxpayers or citizens in the country. 

The survival of postal services around the world has been threatened by the ever increasing shift towards digital communication. E-mail, social media, as well as the widespread usage of mobile phones have obliterated the validity of traditional postal services like mails and telegram services. A month ago it was reported that Denmark’s state-run postal service, PostNord, was going to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century. In Sri Lanka too, according to the performance reports of the Postal Department, the number of letters received per person declined from 23 in 2007 to 15 in 2016; by about 35% in 10 years.

While the demand for traditional postal services has declined considerably, the State Postal Service had a cadre of 18,861 at the end of 2023, and its approved cadre as at the same date was 22,584. The department suffered a financial loss of Rs. 3,222 million in 2023 while its losses in 2021 and 2022 were Rs. 7,173 million and Rs. 6,832 million respectively. In an environment where the necessity for post cards and conventional mail is diminishing rapidly, the rationale of maintaining a massive workforce of close to 19,000 is open to discussion. A trend of downsizing the operations of postal services due to their declining relevance can be observed worldwide. 

Recently, Germany’s Deutsche Post said it was axing 8,000 jobs. Deutsche Post has 187,000 employees and staff representatives had said they feared more cuts were to come. 

However, even though the decline of postal activities in the country has been established by empirical evidence, the employees of Sri Lanka Post continue to earn overtime payments under questionable circumstances. As per the findings of the National Audit Office, in 2023, despite the fingerprint time punching machine showing that employees had left at 4:15 p.m., an overtime payment of approximately Rs. 58 million had been paid to certain workers by deceitfully claiming those workers ended their shifts during late evenings. 

At a time when the relevance of existence of numerous State entities has come under scrutiny, the policymakers need to seriously consider the continuity of the Postal Department in its present set-up. Trade unionists attached to the postal service like Bandara have no concern towards the well-being of citizens and instead they are preoccupied with their self-interest at any cost.

The growth of e-commerce has increased the need for delivery of goods and it is an area the Postal Department should pay more attention in view of the evolving needs of consumers. A dynamic and progressive approach on the part of all segments of postal employees would enable the institution, which was established by Dutch colonial rulers in 1798, to become a self-sustainable entity without being another lethargic State entity which sucks the blood of taxpayers.