Fears Over Royal Mail Privatisation Plan (Updated)

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politi ... We_Know_It" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Updated:

Hundreds of postal workers have staged a sit-down protest outside Parliament during a demonstration against plans to privatise the Royal Mail.

The Government wants to allow private investment into the business

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), many in their postal uniforms, held a rally aimed at giving MPs a "clear message of dissatisfaction".

After the rally, workers sat down in the road close to the headquarters of the Business Department, disrupting traffic in the area.

Police were called to deal with the incident, which took place close to the spot where violence erupted during last week's student protest against higher tuition fees.

The union believes the Postal Service Bill, which paves the way for the privatisation, contains "huge loopholes" which put at risk the universal service of nationwide deliveries at the same price, and the post office network.

The biggest threat to postal services in the UK and to jobs at Royal Mail is to do nothing - BIS spokesman

Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: "If this legislation goes through it will mean the end of the postal service as we know it.

"Prices will skyrocket, the universal one-price-goes-anywhere service will be in jeopardy and post offices will close. If people think the weather has been bad for deliveries, you've not seen anything if the Government gets its way."

Ken Livingstone, Labour's candidate for the London mayoral election, who joined the rally, said: "It's vital that the CWU's Keep the Post Public Campaign succeeds and we defeat the Government's plans to privatise the Royal Mail.

The two sides disagree over whether the universal service will be preserved

"Privatisation will be devastating for staff and customers and will affect millions of Londoners, whether they use the service as a resident or in a business capacity.

"The polls regularly show that the majority of people in this country oppose taking the Royal Mail out of the public control. The Royal Mail is successful and profitable and it must not be privatised."

A Department for Business spokesman said: "The biggest threat to postal services in the UK and to jobs at Royal Mail is to do nothing.

"The approach we are taking is based on hard facts and real evidence - the letters market is in structural decline, and Royal Mail is facing huge competition from email and other forms of communication."

[barbario]

What is the Union's response to the last two sentances.

[barbario]

They have been guessing the amount of savings HWDC is making them and passing them off has hard facts.

[dvbuk55]

The letters market may well be in decline but it isn't immediately terminal, what is in structural decline is Royal Mails delivery service. They've buggered about with it so much we don't know if we're on our arse or elbow most of the time.

[Edward Hunter]

I agree that letters are in decline, which asks the question why would any private company want to invest in a business in which the core product is only going one way. Also why would the current management invest so much cash on letter sorting machines

[fishtank]

which asks the question why would any private company want to invest in a business in which the core product is only going one way.

...because Royal Mail still has a virtual monopoly on the delivery of mail...with a "helpful" regulatory regime and in the hands of a private investor who will drive down labour costs...this company is potentially a cash cow ready for milking.

Also why would the current management invest so much cash on letter sorting machines

...because the investment should have been almost instantly recoverable through lower labour costs.
i.e the 24,000 job losses that went with the modernisation programme.

[dvbuk55]

Make no bones about it, Royal Mail is not as dead in the water as the Government would paint the picture.

There will be profit even from the outset, once privatised you can forget service even as a peripheral, business is driven by profit and one way or another they are going to make it.

[pickaname]

The CWU is in decline