Should post offices close? Regional administrative court agree with small communities

The Regional Administrative Court may be the hope for small communities who want to hold on to their post office.

The news, reported today in an article in La Stampa, that the Italian Post Office was going raise the white flag because of the numerous appeals by mayors, who refused to passively accept the closure of the post offices in their communities, is from a few days ago.

The matter particularly concerns small villages, and villages located in mountain areas, where mainly elderly inhabitants would be deprived of an office they could go to to collect their pensions, send and collect parcels, and pay bills.

Apparently, after communities in Tuscany, Abruzzo and Lombardy won their appeals in the Regional Administrative Court (the latest community the Regional Administrative Court agreed with is Olevano di Lonellina), Poste Italiane had a change of heart over closing 455 post offices not considered economic.

We will see if this is a genuine about-turn, or just a way of taking time to consider case by case.

 According to La Stampa, company sources have explained that, “There can be no post offices without post. Our service is and must be one that is close to the people. So, we are going to consider each case.” The solution to the issue will most probably be a halt on closures and a negotiation with mayors to revise opening times. The reduction in one office in return for the development of another is a more acceptable argument for local communities. And the Italian Association of National Communities, ANCI, also appreciates it.

Now, for the communities in our province, there is a glimmer of hope, starting with Cazzago Brabbia. The inhabitants of Cazzago and Inarzo have collected signatures in order to ask for the post office to return to opening the whole week, and not only a few hours on certain days.

When the petition was delivered to the Central Post Office in Varese, the mayors were told that nothing could be done, that the office could not go back to “opening full time”. Now, discussions will, most probably, start again.