Overview
- The Verdi/Input Consulting survey of 3,000 workers reports a DGB Good Work Index of 40 in the courier, express and parcel sector, with fewer than half believing they can stay in the job until retirement.
- Health‑insurer AOK Rheinland/Hamburg records roughly 7.65–8 percent of couriers absent sick on any given day, with about three quarters of cases due to musculoskeletal disorders despite an average age of just 38.2 years.
- North Rhine‑Westphalia labor inspections documented widespread shortcomings at subcontractors, including missing safety briefings and absent legally required hazard assessments.
- Verdi is calling for a 20‑kilogram cap for single‑person deliveries and a ban on subcontractors, while DHL stresses direct, collectively bargained employment, ergonomic investments and support for the 20‑kg limit; industry group BPEX rejects the study’s conclusions and cites its own more positive 2024 survey.
- A DHL courier’s Instagram clip about delivering an approximately 27‑kilogram sack, described as rock salt, drew millions of views and mixed reactions across TikTok and Instagram during the holiday peak.