Swiss want traditional postal service preserved
A majority of people do not want to see changes to the Swiss Post's public service mandate, according to the results of a survey.
Some 57 per cent of Swiss believe that the complete deregulation of the letter delivery market as proposed by the cabinet in May makes very little or no sense at all.
The survey, carried out by the research institute gfs.berne on behalf of the Swiss Post found that two-thirds of those questioned agree with the opinion that deregulation would weaken the financing of the post office network.
Around the same number perceive market deregulation as a risk that would disadvantage peripheral regions of Switzerland. Around half fear job losses if deregulation goes ahead.
Around eight out of ten respondents want the basic postal service to remain in its current form. And as many as nine out of ten strongly believe that a nationwide post office network is necessary for the economy to function properly.
The same number of people see the Swiss Post as part of their national identity.
Those surveyed were also asked about plans to restructure the post office’s financial services. Opinion was split evenly over whether PostFinance should additionally offer loans and mortgages.
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