Vaud: broad revolt against the restructuring of La Poste

In one day, more than 2,000 Vaudois added their names to the online petition entitled post-stop.ch. Following the recent announcement of a new official bloodletting by Swiss Postthe initiators ask the yellow giant to renounce the closure of 19 additional offices at the cantonal level. “The canton would have lost half of its postal offices in ten years! This goes too far. “It’s a loss in the quality of daily life for retirees, families, but also many SMEs,” comments Julien Rilliet, who put the text online.

As a reminder, of its 78 remaining offices in the canton, La Poste plans to close those of Apples, Aubonne, Bière, Chernex, Crissier 1, Cully, Forel (Lavaux), Granges-près-Marnand, L’Isle, La Sarraz, Lausanne 1 Dépôt, Le Pont, Les Diablerets, Lucens, Lully, Mézières, Saint-Cergue, Saint-Prex and Thierrens. “Recent fights, like that for the Saint-François post office in Lausanne, have shown that sometimes a petition moves the lines. Instead of a common struggle by municipality, we want everyone to pull on the same rope,” adds the political communications specialist, affiliated with the PS, who supports the petition.

Utility deserts

If Lausanne should see an office close, the damage promises to be serious, particularly in the countryside. With the possible elimination of the Diablerets office, the entire Ormonts valley will find itself without a post. “We are losing local services and the population will pay the price. La Poste is taking steps to find partners. They have an obligation to present a solution before closing. I hope that this will be the case,” regrets Christian Reber, trustee of Ormont-Dessus.

The solution will not, however, come from the municipal administration, requested to become a subsidiary in partnership. “This is not our role,” continues the trustee, who recalls that municipal services already have to manage a population of 1,400 souls, which regularly climbs to 10,000 residents.

With the possible closures of Thierrens, Lucens and Granges, another black hole is emerging in Broye. “Montanaire is made up of nine villages around Thierrens, eight of which already benefit from home service. It doesn’t work that badly, but it remains a problem for people who are not very connected or comfortable with using the internet,” says the union member, Cécile Crisinel Favre. “I hope that La Poste will improve its communication for these customers in difficulty,” continues Christian Cosendai, trustee of Valbroye. And the two city councilors support the opening of a subsidiary in partnership.

Finally, the foot of the Jura will also find itself in difficulty with the threats hovering over the Beer, L’Isle and Apples offices. “Everyone will have to converge on Morges, where everything is already congested,” laments Marie Christine Gilliéron, Hautemorges union member.

Adapt to habits

On the side of La Poste, we assure that a strong public service is the absolute priority. The former federal government says it meets the accessibility criteria with its own revenues, therefore without resorting to taxpayer money. “To continue to do so, La Poste must adapt to people’s habits,” assures Stefan Dauner. And the spokesperson assures that the approximately 1,200 partner agencies in the country, including more than 80 in Vaud, “constitute a valued offering, in particular thanks to wider opening hours”.

What about signing solutions in relevant locations? “We are at the first contact with certain municipalities, while we have made good progress with others,” replies the communicator, speaking of the first positive exchanges. By the end of 2028, La Poste hopes to have “found a solution for each of the subsidiaries mentioned”.

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