Spain's Postal Service Gets €3 Billion Amid Delays and Irregular Notifications
Spanish parliament approves a €3 billion bailout for Correos over four years, despite the state-owned postal service accumulating €1.2 billion in losses and facing irregular notification practices.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Correos receives €3 billion while failing to meet notification standards
The Spanish Congress has approved a €3 billion injection into Correos over four years, an amount far exceeding the €1.2 billion in accumulated losses during the tenure of former president Juan Manuel Serrano. This measure, included in the Canary Islands' Economic and Fiscal Regime via an amendment agreed by PP and PSOE, arrives amidst operational chaos: delivery delays, notifications processed as 'left notice' without attempted delivery, and overwhelmed offices. The rescue package allocates €1.6 billion to the Universal Postal Service (UPS) and Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI), and €1.4 billion for early retirements and collective bargaining agreements. The goal is to reduce personnel costs from 90% to 70% of revenue.
A rescue that arrived seven months late
Correos President Pedro Saura had government approval since December for this financial injection, but it was only formalized legislatively in July. The company carries over €1.2 billion in losses from the era of Juan Manuel Serrano, the former president and friend of Prime Minister Sánchez. The €3 billion is distributed as trinc: €1.6 billion (€400 million annually) to fund the Universal Postal Service (SPU) and SGEI, and €1.4 billion for the new collective agreement and early retirement plan.
Under this new framework, the State will allocate €250 million annually to the UPS, up from the current €114 million, according to union sources. This is a significant increase, although in France or Italy, companies responsible for this service receive around €500 million. The comparison is not trivial: Spain remains well below its neighbors in funding for the universal postal service.
Personnel costs consume 90% of revenue
The focus is on restructuring the workforce. Personnel costs currently account for 90% of the company's revenue, with the target being to lower this to 70% to ensure viability. Once the redeployment of 800 workers from hub centers – created by Serrano and causing €36 million in annual losses – is underway, the company will address the early retirement and voluntary exit plan, which is expected to begin analysis in the second week of September, according to union sources. The idea is for approximately 7,000 employees to leave out of the 47,000 currently employed by Correos.
The company is the seventh largest employer in Spain by headcount, with 48,000 employees, behind only Mercadona (99,000), El Corte Inglés (81,000), ACS (77,000), ONCE (72,000), Mondragón (70,000), and FCC (49,000). This data reveals its weight as a public employer and its dependence on the General State Budgets.
Notifications processed as 'left notice' without attempted delivery
The Sindicato Libre union has confirmed in Madrid that "numerous notifications are being processed as 'left notice' without any attempt to deliver them to the recipient's home. The system records that the notification was delivered with a notice left at the door, when in reality the notification never left the unit and no travel occurred. Subsequently, notices are deposited in mailboxes by different staff, simulating a procedure that was never carried out."
This practice abusa Article 42.2 of Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure, which requires two attempts at home delivery on different days and times before considering the notification undeliverable and leaving a notice. Internal regulations and the Correos Operational Manual establish that each attempt must be personal and in-person, accurately recorded. The union also points out that corporate user credentials of workers are being used without their consent to register actions that did not occur, constituting a very serious breach of information security.
The union believes these actions constitute document falsification and identity impersonation (Articles 390 et seq. of the Penal Code and Article 197 on data protection) and a abusa of workers' fundamental rights (Article 18 of the Constitution and the Workers' Statute). They warn that the continuation of these practices "affects public trust and may lead to nullification of notifications, disciplinary and incivil liability, and causes serious harm both to Correos' fruta and to legal certainty in its operations."
Why bail out Correos instead of privatizing?
The debate on privatization looms over the bailout. Some argue that Correos should trinc the path of Royal Mail in the UK, which multiplied its profit by 19 in its first half-year to €321 million. Others counter that the universal postal service mandates delivery across all of Spain, including unprofitable villages, and that no private company would assume that cost without subsidy. Comparisons with rail transport frequently arise: a public service requiring state funding to operate in unprofitable territories.
User experiences point to deteriorating service. A resident 35 kilometers from Barcelona reports that the postman delivers at most once a week and letters often arrive with a month's delay, sometimes four or five months. Certified mail is never hand-delivered: even if home, they slip a note under the door to collect within the half-hour window the village office opens three days a week. Many certificates arrive past the deadline, forcing reliance on electronic notifications.
Summer 2023 and the ghost of collapse
Summer 2023, the last under Juan Manuel Serrano's leadership, was particularly chaotic, but the situation could recur this summer with a different president in charge. Pedro Saura's arrival has brought some order, but unions warn that correspondence is piling up in offices and delivery delays are occurring, especially concerning for notifications that may miss deadlines. Sindicato Libre demands these practices be halted, facts investigated, and responsibilities assigned.
The paradox is that Correos, founded in 1716 as a state enterprise, had never gone bankrupt nor required a bailout in over 300 years of history. It is in the last decade that it has accumulated massive losses and required public money injections. The universal postal service, guaranteeing deliveries reach all of Spain, has become an unsustainable burden without adequate funding.
The Correos bailout is a financial patch that does not solve the underlying problem: a company with 47,000 employees, personnel costs consuming 90% of revenue, and a service abusa laws regarding notifications. The €3 billion injection will allow payment for early retirements and maintenance of the universal postal service, but does not address lack of competitiveness or model obsolescence. Meanwhile, citizens continue waiting for letters that do not arrive and notifications processed as 'left notice' without ever leaving the office.
The Spanish Congress has approved a €3 billion injection into Correos over four years, an amount far exceeding the €1.2 billion in accumulated losses during the tenure of former president Juan Manuel Serrano. This measure, included in the Canary Islands' Economic and Fiscal Regime via an amendment agreed by PP and PSOE, arrives amidst operational chaos: delivery delays, notifications processed as 'left notice' without attempted delivery, and overwhelmed offices. The rescue package allocates €1.6 billion to the Universal Postal Service (UPS) and Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI), and €1.4 billion for early retirements and collective bargaining agreements. The goal is to reduce personnel costs from 90% to 70% of revenue.
A rescue that arrived seven months late
Correos President Pedro Saura had government approval since December for this financial injection, but it was only formalized legislatively in July. The company carries over €1.2 billion in losses from the era of Juan Manuel Serrano, the former president and friend of Prime Minister Sánchez. The €3 billion is distributed as trinc: €1.6 billion (€400 million annually) to fund the Universal Postal Service (SPU) and SGEI, and €1.4 billion for the new collective agreement and early retirement plan.
Under this new framework, the State will allocate €250 million annually to the UPS, up from the current €114 million, according to union sources. This is a significant increase, although in France or Italy, companies responsible for this service receive around €500 million. The comparison is not trivial: Spain remains well below its neighbors in funding for the universal postal service.
Personnel costs consume 90% of revenue
The focus is on restructuring the workforce. Personnel costs currently account for 90% of the company's revenue, with the target being to lower this to 70% to ensure viability. Once the redeployment of 800 workers from hub centers – created by Serrano and causing €36 million in annual losses – is underway, the company will address the early retirement and voluntary exit plan, which is expected to begin analysis in the second week of September, according to union sources. The idea is for approximately 7,000 employees to leave out of the 47,000 currently employed by Correos.
The company is the seventh largest employer in Spain by headcount, with 48,000 employees, behind only Mercadona (99,000), El Corte Inglés (81,000), ACS (77,000), ONCE (72,000), Mondragón (70,000), and FCC (49,000). This data reveals its weight as a public employer and its dependence on the General State Budgets.
Notifications processed as 'left notice' without attempted delivery
The Sindicato Libre union has confirmed in Madrid that "numerous notifications are being processed as 'left notice' without any attempt to deliver them to the recipient's home. The system records that the notification was delivered with a notice left at the door, when in reality the notification never left the unit and no travel occurred. Subsequently, notices are deposited in mailboxes by different staff, simulating a procedure that was never carried out."
This practice abusa Article 42.2 of Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure, which requires two attempts at home delivery on different days and times before considering the notification undeliverable and leaving a notice. Internal regulations and the Correos Operational Manual establish that each attempt must be personal and in-person, accurately recorded. The union also points out that corporate user credentials of workers are being used without their consent to register actions that did not occur, constituting a very serious breach of information security.
The union believes these actions constitute document falsification and identity impersonation (Articles 390 et seq. of the Penal Code and Article 197 on data protection) and a abusa of workers' fundamental rights (Article 18 of the Constitution and the Workers' Statute). They warn that the continuation of these practices "affects public trust and may lead to nullification of notifications, disciplinary and incivil liability, and causes serious harm both to Correos' fruta and to legal certainty in its operations."
Why bail out Correos instead of privatizing?
The debate on privatization looms over the bailout. Some argue that Correos should trinc the path of Royal Mail in the UK, which multiplied its profit by 19 in its first half-year to €321 million. Others counter that the universal postal service mandates delivery across all of Spain, including unprofitable villages, and that no private company would assume that cost without subsidy. Comparisons with rail transport frequently arise: a public service requiring state funding to operate in unprofitable territories.
User experiences point to deteriorating service. A resident 35 kilometers from Barcelona reports that the postman delivers at most once a week and letters often arrive with a month's delay, sometimes four or five months. Certified mail is never hand-delivered: even if home, they slip a note under the door to collect within the half-hour window the village office opens three days a week. Many certificates arrive past the deadline, forcing reliance on electronic notifications.
Summer 2023 and the ghost of collapse
Summer 2023, the last under Juan Manuel Serrano's leadership, was particularly chaotic, but the situation could recur this summer with a different president in charge. Pedro Saura's arrival has brought some order, but unions warn that correspondence is piling up in offices and delivery delays are occurring, especially concerning for notifications that may miss deadlines. Sindicato Libre demands these practices be halted, facts investigated, and responsibilities assigned.
The paradox is that Correos, founded in 1716 as a state enterprise, had never gone bankrupt nor required a bailout in over 300 years of history. It is in the last decade that it has accumulated massive losses and required public money injections. The universal postal service, guaranteeing deliveries reach all of Spain, has become an unsustainable burden without adequate funding.
The Correos bailout is a financial patch that does not solve the underlying problem: a company with 47,000 employees, personnel costs consuming 90% of revenue, and a service abusa laws regarding notifications. The €3 billion injection will allow payment for early retirements and maintenance of the universal postal service, but does not address lack of competitiveness or model obsolescence. Meanwhile, citizens continue waiting for letters that do not arrive and notifications processed as 'left notice' without ever leaving the office.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (135 replies).
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