Revisiting the unparalleled role of postal services on World Post Day

• 53% of post offices worldwide provide insurance, a critical financial service that strengthens the resilience of low-income individuals facing irregular and unpredictable revenue levels

Sri Lanka’s 200-year-old postal service now stands at a turning point as the government is keen to ensure that it doesn’t incur any losses or become a burden to the Treasury in future. This is why the government has allocated a sum of USD 7 million to modernise postal services in the country. According to Health and Media Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, this allocation was made despite postal services being a burden on state finances. However, despite various hardships in carrying out duties, especially in this day and age of technology, postal services are still considered a vital sector globally. 
October 9 marks World Post Day, and the theme for this year is ‘Post for People; Local service, Global Reach’. According to the United Nations, with over one-third of people offline and half of businesses not trading online, post offices—often the only public access point in remote areas—are vital gateways to the digital economy. This year’s campaign highlights the Post as a vital public service rooted in communities and driven by people. From rural villages to urban centres, the Post connects people and opens doors to the world.
Statistics indicate that over 1.5 billion people worldwide (approximately 28% of the global adult population) access basic financial services such as payments, money transfers, and savings through postal networks. 53% of post offices worldwide provide insurance, a critical financial service that strengthens the resilience of low-income individuals facing irregular and unpredictable revenue levels. 
Sri Lanka’s postal services were crippled in August this year, when postal workers claimed that the government hadn’t agreed to several of their demands. They also opposed a biometric system to mark attendance, to which they later had no choice but to agree. Postal trade unions argued about issues in paying overtime and several other issues, thereby dragging the strike for over a week, incurring a loss of about Rs. 120 million. 
Some of their demands included establishing a service constitution for uniformed postal officials; a new recruitment procedure for junior inspectors, sub-post masters, sorting officers, and drivers, in line with the new constitution; the permanent appointment of all acting or substitute external labourers; expediting the recruitment and promotion process for officers of all grades, including external labourers; resolving issues with overtime services and calculations, and not acting on the Postmaster General’s instructions for these; resolving issues within the transport system; increasing travel allowances; stopping delays in payments and increasing the salary of Grade One officers in three stages.
Following these events, the government is now looking at investing USD 7 million to make post offices more efficient, reliable and revenue-generating. Funds will be allocated to purchase lorries, cabs, tablet computers to digitise sub post offices, distribution of computers, establishing solar power units at selected outlets, constructing 20 new post offices and modernising 209 branches island-wide. Several new appointments and recruitments have already been completed to strengthen the cadre.
For many Sri Lankans, the post office is still a critical link in daily life, from rural communities dependent on mail delivery to citizens using financial and logistical services. Its long history has made it part of the national fabric, but in an era of email, instant messaging, and private couriers, its traditional role is now being ignored. But if the postal service cannot be made profitable, difficult decisions may follow. This could mean closures, mergers, or a complete restructuring of how postal services operate in the country.
The incumbent government is currently in the process of doing a complete overhaul of the public sector and making attempts to transform loss-making enterprises to profit-making ventures in order to reduce the burden on the treasury. Recently, examples clearly indicate the nature of corruption that has persisted within these institutions. If the government decides to close post offices, for instance, it would affect the livelihoods of many. 
Preserving postal services will benefit future generations as they continue to work with AI. Future generations need to know how postal services bridged the rural-urban divide, creating a world within everyone’s reach. After all, the Post is unparalleled in its ability to deliver services to anyone, anywhere in the world and is therefore, a profession that needs to be preserved. 

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