“During the war, it is unacceptable to cancel the state regulation of tariffs for the postal delivery of Ukrainian newspapers,” says NUJU

The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure, together with the Ukrposhta JSC [state postal service], are trying to remove the state regulation of tariffs for the receipt and delivery of domestic periodicals under subscription, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers back in 1996.

This is provided for by the Draft Order of the Ministry dated September 1. It is assumed that Ukrposhta will be able to revise the tariffs for the postal delivery of the press independently, without agreement with the government and any state examinations. According to the authors of the Draft Order, this will increase the income of the Ukrposhta JSC, which will then be able to carry out economic modernization, which will positively affect the improvement of the quality-of-service provision. At the same time, Ukrainian newspaper newsrooms have already received notifications from the regional directorates of Ukrposhta about the likely significant increase in postal tariffs for subscriptions in 2024.

Instead, as the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) is convinced, for citizens, and especially for the largest group of print media subscribers (and therefore consumers of Ukrposhta‘s services) – elderly people, the prices at which they will have to subscribe to publications are of primary importance. Prices for postal delivery will increase significantly, approximately twice, according to experts.

An increase in the cost of postal delivery of domestic media will cause the impoverishment of already poor people. It will also lead to a further decline in print media circulation. The domestic print media industry may die – newsrooms will be shut down, labor unions will be disbanded, entire social categories and residents in large territories will be left without a reliable source of information (and often the only source), qualified journalists will find themselves in employment centers, the state will lose the “fourth power” – an important tool for maintaining democracy and delivering accurate information to people in wartime conditions.

The “explanation of the expected impact” on citizens given in the Draft Order, which has nothing to do with the real interests of citizens, once again demonstrates that the document lobbies exclusively for the interests of Ukrposhta and, under the conditions of its monopoly position, may cause abuse on the part of this joint-stock company.

The NUJU urges not to abandon the existing government regulation of tariffs for the delivery of the Ukrainian press because the affordable cost of print media is especially important in wartime conditions. At the same time, the NUJU calls on the government to respond as a priority to the critical situation caused by the mass dismissal of mail carriers in the second half of this year. Since August, the hotline of the NUJU has received almost 800 complaints from citizens, representatives of local authorities, mail carriers, and publishers about the large-scale shutdown of post offices, dismissal of mail carriers, failure to deliver press, and lack of access to postal services.

“We’ve received new tariffs from Ukrposhta: delivery UAH 17.33 (a rise from UAH 8.50). Making a subscription for one month is UAH 5, three months – UAH 10, six months – UAH 14, and 12 months – UAH 22. This means elimination of newspapers!!!!” says Volodymyr Storchakov, the editor-in-chief of the Ridnyi Krai newspaper from Pavlohrad.

“Government regulation of tariffs for the reception and delivery of periodical printed publications under subscription is one of the elements of government control over the actions of the postal operator and the recognition of the fact that the cost of postal delivery should be affordable for Ukrainians,” notes NUJU President, Sergiy Tomilenko. “The practice of recent years has shown that the government constantly supported Ukrposhta’s proposals regarding tariffs, and they constantly increased. However, the procedure of such a growth allowed printed publications to predict their work and maintain relative financial stability. Instead, giving Ukrposhta the opportunity to independently set tariffs will put printed publications, which are already hostage to problems with postal delivery (caused, in particular, by the mass redundancies among mail carriers), on the verge of complete extinction.”

The offered Draft Order to cancel tariffs for postal delivery of periodicals is currently undergoing public discussion.

The NUJU offers:

• not to approve the Draft Order,
• to suggest that the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure (Ministry of Regeneration) urgently extend the validity of the previous order till 2024 in order to make it impossible for Ukrposhta to boycott the start of a subscription campaign,
• to suggest that the Ministry of Regeneration establish a workgroup of representatives of the Ministry, Ukrposhta, the NUJU, and the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine to develop draft legislative acts on subscriptions and delivery of print media, as well as an Order on subscriptions for 2025.

NUJU Information Service