Overview
- During a visit to a DHL facility in Berlin, Kai Wegner observed operations on the floor and personally lifted packages to assess the strain on staff.
- He said he will advocate the 20-kilogram limit in the federal government and the Bundesrat, following a failed 23-kilogram bill last December.
- Verdi seeks a binding regulation that bars single-person lifts over 20 kilograms and applies across the sector, including subcontracted workers.
- DHL says it supports tackling heavy shipments but currently operates to a 23-kilogram threshold and notes a uniform rule could ensure equal competition, with possible increases in package counts if large items are split.
- DHL reports roughly 250,000 daily deliveries in Berlin, up to 200 per courier, with about eight percent at 20 kilograms or more and very few near the 31.5-kilogram statutory ceiling.