Statement of BdKEP on the Coalition Agreement of April 9, 2025

The BdKEP welcomes the agreement of the future coalition partners. For the approximately 12,000 medium-sized courier, express, postal, and parcel companies (KEP), the planned initiatives in the areas of postal law, minimum wage, and procurement law are of central importance.

 

(Berlin) The coalition agreement addresses important concerns – from the BdKEP’s perspective, however, concrete and medium-sized oriented design is necessary to sustainably secure competitiveness and value creation in the region.

Postal Law: Regulating Delivery Situations Practically

The announced further development of the postal law and the associated legal regulations is explicitly welcomed by the BdKEP. It is particularly positive that the involvement of the affected companies is planned.

In the context of legal design, the delivery situation should be considered in a differentiated manner: While hand trucks are practical on flat surfaces or when delivering over ramps, they reach their limits on upper floors of apartment buildings. Clear, realistic regulations are needed here. The BdKEP advocates the use of proven instruments such as the guideline method for ergonomic assessment of working conditions.

Moreover, there is concern that the requirements for the reliability of contractors may be diluted. Clients would then no longer have to fear being held responsible for legal violations by their subcontractors. This poses the risk that unscrupulous companies can operate with low risk, systematically displacing law-abiding medium-sized businesses.

Responsibility for Lawful Conduct Must Not Be Undermined

Regarding the responsibility of KEP clients for the use of lawfully operating subcontractors (e.g., working conditions), the BdKEP believes it must be ensured that unlawfully operating companies are pushed out of the market. Procedures must be found that cannot be circumvented, allowing clients to easily evade liability or allowing subcontractors to be classified as reliable despite regulatory violations. There is a risk that the regulations will be dismantled under the banner of reducing bureaucracy to the extent that unlawfully operating companies can operate in the market with low risk.

Minimum Wage: Reliability Through Economic Reality

The planned strengthening of the independence of the minimum wage commission is an important signal. The BdKEP explicitly supports this step. At the same time, it must be ensured that the economic viability of small and medium-sized enterprises is adequately considered when determining future minimum wages – especially in a challenging economic situation.

Procurement Law: Fair Market Conditions for Medium-Sized Businesses

The BdKEP views the indicated changes in procurement law under the banner of “reducing bureaucracy” particularly critically. The emphasis on an allegedly medium-sized friendly orientation contradicts planned measures such as the de facto abolition of lot allocation. The elimination of mandatory lots means that medium-sized companies can no longer bid independently. Instead, they find themselves in the role of dependent subcontractors, while the actual value creation remains with large companies and corporations.

Conclusion

The BdKEP demands a consistently medium-sized oriented implementation of the initiatives formulated in the coalition agreement. Legislative changes must not lead to a reduction of bureaucracy that undermines market rules. Only through transparent procurement processes, fair working conditions, and industry-appropriate framework conditions can the diverse and regionally anchored KEP economy be strengthened in the long term.

 

Photo: © BdKEP: Image caption: Andreas Schumann, Chairman of the Federal Association of Courier, Express, and Postal Services BdKEP