Postal chaos in Ueckermünde: Citizens wait for days, sometimes weeks!

Postal chaos in Ueckermünde: Citizens wait for days, sometimes weeks!

In the rural regions of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, especially in Ueckermünde and Eggesin, many citizens' mailboxes remain increasingly empty. Complaints about poor mail delivery are commonplace. People there sometimes wait for days, even over two weeks, for important letters, including official gazettes with relevant dates. “I feel let down by Deutsche Post,” says Pastor Susanne Leder from Ueckermünde, who has been waiting for incoming shipments for a long time. Her complaints, she reports, were not taken seriously and had no corresponding consequences. A spokesman for Deutsche Post admits that staff shortages are causing delays of a few days, while the situation is at the same time exacerbated by the ever-increasing illness rate and vacation periods. n-tv reports about the constant delivery of letters and parcels to regions outside of the severely affected areas.

It seems that Deutsche Post also has a serious personnel problem. New employees have been hired since the beginning of June, but training takes time. The high volumes of shipments in the parcel sector are an additional challenge that further increases the pressure on the already busy postal service. Despite these efforts, the question remains: How long will citizens continue to have to wait for their letters?

Strikes and their effects

The pressure on Deutsche Post has increased even further due to a warning strike called by the ver.di union. Loud NDR Locations such as Ludwigslust, Anklam and Bad Doberan are affected, and the work stoppages mean that an estimated 40,000 letters and 2,000 parcels cannot be delivered. Employees are demanding better wages and more recognition of their performance in ongoing collective bargaining, which has so far been perceived as inadequate.

The situation continued to worsen: in a third day of warning strikes, empty mailboxes became the norm, especially in the places mentioned. According to the ver.di union, around 700,000 letters and 35,000 packages were left behind. This not only causes inconvenience for local citizens, but also serious problems, especially when it comes to the delivery of invoices and official letters. “The reminders arrive before the bills themselves are delivered,” said a concerned citizen from Torgelow.

The future of mail delivery

In view of this development, it remains to be seen what will happen with postal delivery in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Deutsche Post is struggling to find the number of delivery workers it needs and while hiring new employees, it needs to maintain service at the same time. Northern Courier expects that the postal service will make new proposals in the next few days to reach an agreement with the unions and stabilize the service.

Citizens still want reliable mail delivery. Many rely on regular delivery and hope for rapid improvements. The pressure on Deutsche Post is enormous, and the impending backlog of abandoned shipments will only continue to increase if solutions are not found. Next Monday and Tuesday could be crucial when collective bargaining talks take place again and hopefully new paths are shown.