KDH Calls on Fico to Order Audit at Slovak Post Office after Regulator Acts

Bratislava, 21 August (TASR) - The opposition Christian Democrats have called on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to ensure that a comprehensive and independent audit is carried out at the state-owned Slovak Post Office, TASR reported on Friday in connection with a letter addressed to the prime minister by Igor Janckulik, KDH MP, party vice-chair and deputy chairman of the parliamentary public administration and regional development committee. In the letter, KDH urged Fico to examine the company's economic performance, employees' working conditions, the closing of branches, the transformation plan for 2026-28, and oversight by the Transport Ministry. According to KDH, the need for an audit is even more compelling in view of a recent intervention by the Office for Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services. Based on complaints and petitions from local authorities, the regulatory office called on the Slovak Post Office to abandon immediately its practice of temporarily closing post offices, as this interferes with the public postal network. It also urged the company to provide its services in line with the law, the postal licence and quality requirements. In turn, the company announced that it will refrain from planned temporary closures and reduced opening hours. "This is no longer just warnings from KDH, employees or mayors, as the regulator itself has had to intervene in the Slovak Post Office's practices, "said Janckulik, adding that Fico can't pretend that this is just a standard internal transformation. The Transport Ministry told TASR that it recognises the need to implement measures to improve the Slovak Post Office's financial situation, including optimising the network of branches. "However, this is a matter for experts, and we reject any attempt to turn this into a political issue or use it for campaigning purposes," said ministry spokesperson Petra Polacikova, noting that the Slovak Post Office respected the request to stop closing branches. "We therefore consider the whole matter closed," she added. According to KDH, the audit should examine fiscal performance, the effectiveness of transformation measures, personnel policy, compliance with the Labour Code, decisions concerning the network of branches, as well as whether the Transport Ministry, as the Slovak Post Office's sole shareholder, exercises sufficient oversight. "Prime Minister Robert Fico can't act as if this is just a problem for the Slovak Post Office management. The Slovak Post Office belongs to the state, and the state is responsible for it," stressed Janckulik, adding that if the government's claim that everything is in order is correct, there's no reason for it to fear an independent audit. In recent months, hundreds of Slovak Post Office employees have contacted KDH with complaints concerning staff shortages, heavy workloads, staff cover, holidays, overtime, low salaries and pressure to sell commercial products. KDH has therefore filed a complaint with the National Labour Inspectorate and has repeatedly raised the issue at the parliamentary committee, but the Slovak Post Office management and coalition MPs have simply ignored the committee meetings. jrg/df