CWU delegates prepare to fight mail sell-off

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CWU delegates have declared that they are ready to take industrial action to defend Royal Mail following news that a Bill to privatise the service will be in Tuesday's Queen speech.

The new government is risking an early collision course with the "battle-hardened" postal workers, less than a year after their national strike at Royal Mail resulted in victory.

The Bill may reach Parliament by next summer and CWU general secretary Billy Hayes insisted that this would mean "a summer of discontent as far as we're concerned."

Last year, a fierce CWU campaign coupled with a huge backbench revolt shelved former business secretary Peter Mandelson's plans to privatise Royal Mail.

The coalition government is reportedly seeking advice from the man behind Mr Mandelson's defeated plans, Sir Richard Hooper, to make the case for privatisation.

"This is old politics wrapped in new language. No-one wants it," Mr Hayes told delegates in Bournemouth.

"We have defeated Royal Mail privatisation three times and we will fight it again with all our might," he pledged, expressing confidence that the union could muster enough public and parliamentary support.

Pro-privatisation MPs might have a majority in Parliament, he said, "but they don't have a majority with the electorate."

CWU deputy general secretary for the postal sector Dave Ward gave the Tory-led government an "absolute guarantee that, if we need to take industrial action to defeat Royal Mail privatisation and secure our members' jobs and pension, we will not hesitate to do it."

He added: "We are battle-hardened, not battle-weary."

Mr Ward stressed that the three-year modernisation agreement struck between CWU and Royal Mail following last year's strike "demonstrates that the business can be successfully run within the public sector."

The union will launch a special campaign committee to raise public awareness about how the plans will "destroy" the post office network, curtail universal access and threaten workers' jobs and conditions, conference heard.