Photo: At the post office at any time, even in the middle of the night

The Post of Slovenia has started adjusting its working hours to modern rhythms

It is already known that certain postal units are being transferred to contract postal units, and that employees are being moved to the bigger post offices, which are being centralized. Foto: MMC/Miloš Ojdanić

The Post of Slovenia (Pošta Slovenije) has opened the first in what is to be a series of automated 24/7 postal offices, which will be carrying out a number of services at any time of the day or night. At the same time the company informs that its employees do not have to fear for their jobs.

"No, our employees don’t have to worry about that. Pošta Slovenije has become a group, we have seven subsidiaries, and if we’re talking about employment we’re in a period of restructuring – we’re aiming for the logistics market," is what Andrej Rihter, the Deputy General Director of the Post of Slovenia told MMC at the opening of the first automated postal office.

"In 2014 we generated an income of 1,5 million euros from logistics services. This year we expect around 16 million. That means we are growing in the logistics segment. It is true that classical postal services are in decline, but we are restructuring our staff," Andrej Rihter calms down employees.

"In line with our strategic development program until the year 2020, which is currently being prepared, we plan to grow — that means even more employment in the coming years. At the moment there are around 5.800 employees at Pošta Slovenije, while the whole group counts around 6.200 people. If we take a look ahead, in the year 2020 the plan is for the whole group to employ almost 7.500 people - mostly on account of logistics," Rihter presented the figures.

From sending letters to paying bills
The Post of Slovenia previously set up a network of 24 packstations in 16 places across the country, making it possible for customers to send parcels via its web application. The automated postal office is this year’s third important novelty.

It stands in the premises of the post office in the centre of Ljubljana, on the crossroad of Slovenska cesta and Čopova ulica. The lobby of the building will be open 24 hours a day all year round. Officials joked that in three weeks you can also spend New Year’s Eve there.

The circular lobby also includes a pay station, an automated machine for selling envelopes, postcards and postage stamps, a cell phone vending machine and an info screen. In the centre of all that is the big mailbox.

Customers can turn in normal and registered mail and parcels, pay bills, withdraw cash and perform other bank services at the ATMs. They can even buy stuff — from envelopes and parcels to mobile phone packages.

Tina Hacler; translated by K. J.