“At the moment, we are talking regarding increasing tariffs that will actually compensate for these changes over a two-year period. Because the new tariffs, if approved, will come into force on January 1, 2025, and accordingly, a period of two years will pass when prices have not changed. We are taking into account inflation, changes in wages, and transportation costs,” explained Andris Puriņš, a member of the board of “Latvijas Pasts”.
In addition, the postal service wants to increase press delivery rates for print media publishers. The post office indicated that this was due to rising prices and a decline in readership.
Taking into account the mechanism of state compensation for the delivery of printed publications, it is planned that the cost of delivery of one unit of production for press publishers will change on average from 0.15 euros to 0.18 euros, which, on an annual basis, represents an increase in the cost of a weekly publication by 1.50 euros.
Other changes are also planned, because following the tariffs are approved, the price for sending the most popular product included in the postal services basket – a simple domestic letter weighing up to 20 grams – will change from 1.65 euros to 2.25 euros.
Tariff changes must still be approved by the regulator
Press publishers are unhappy with the new tariff plans.
They learned regarding the tariff increase the day before, before the plan was presented to the regulator, and in a month they must renew the bilateral agreement.
“The most unacceptable situation is this one, which we have been fighting for several years. It seems like it has been for 10 years. The post office starts making decisions on tariffs only when a new contract actually has to be concluded. At best, we find out at the moment when the contract is to be concluded or there are a couple of weeks left until it is concluded. Or, let’s say, it is announced when we have already signed everything,” said Ivonna Plaude, Chair of the Board of the Latvian Association of Regional Media.
The Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Regional Media Association reported that the price for delivery of copies is estimated to increase by a quarter, while the price for weight is expected to increase by approximately 22%.
“Then the overall average growth is 23%, which is significant, and if you buy these newspapers at the newsstands, you will see what these 68 cents mean without any printing costs, or the most expensive thing you have to pay for – the work of journalists, well, that is not even a question here. It turns out that the editors will have to pay extra for these deliveries,” Plaude said.
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2024-07-06 21:37:52
