1927: Certificates and uniforms
Once Swiss Post, always Swiss Post: in the days of the PTT, most postal staff are civil servants and remain loyal to their employer until retirement. An important basis for this is the 1927 Swiss civil service code (Beamtengesetz (BtG)). All work processes are governed by detailed regulations. It is only in 1998 that civil servant status is rescinded.
1927
Since the founding of the Confederation, Swiss Post has been one of Switzerland’s biggest employers. When the Confederation takes over postal services in 1849, it regulates the employment conditions for employees, including their term of office, grounds for dismissal and threats of punishment for potential wrongdoing. Swiss Post employees are federal civil servants. Anyone looking to become a postmaster must first provide guarantees. Not everyone has the money to do so. In 1883, postal staff therefore set up a mutual guarantee cooperative. In 1910, the barrier of the guarantee is removed.
What does it mean to be employed as a postal worker during the PTT era?
From 1920 to 1928, the PTT is gradually created. A landmark in this process is the 1927 Swiss civil service code (Beamtengesetz (BtG)). Among other things, employment with the postal service means: a secure job, whatever the economic situation. The benefit of almost total protection against dismissal. And the opportunity to progress through predefined career paths. People who choose Swiss Post as their employer usually do so with the intention staying until retirement. Employees see themselves as civil servants serving the state and the Swiss people. Customers are known as “postal users”.
