Postal Service should be off limits

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/opinion/ou ... h=opinion/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

* News & Star * Opinion * Our view

Every day brings fresh news of jobs lost or at risk. So today’s report from unions that Royal Mail jobs could be threatened by the service’s part-privatisation will add to the gloom and anxiety.

The service has always had a reputation for providing a good job for life – something rare in these times. If anyone was to weather the recession the postal workers at Carlisle’s Junction Street depot may have thought they would. Now the Communication Workers’ Union says the 450 staff there are worried about the future.

The Government argues that doing nothing is not an option. They say the gap in the Royal Mail’s pension fund could be more than £5.9 billion, and that selling one-third of the service to a private company will make it more efficient and safeguard its future.

But if money can be found to bail out some of Britain’s struggling banks then surely money could be found to protect a publicly-owned postal service, and the jobs there?

The Royal Mail has a special place in the affections of many people, as last year’s protests over post office closures demonstrated. It was one public company that Margaret Thatcher never dared privatise, partly or wholly.

Nationalisation is suddenly back in fashion. Most taxpayers would prefer to see their money used to keep the Royal Mail in public ownership than to nationalise failing banks.