Unions to ballot over mail sell-off concerns

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Postal workers’ unions have warned they are willing to strike to halt privatisation.

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) will hold a consultative ballot later this month to see whether members are willing to take action against the Government’s plans to sell of the national stake in Royal Mail.

It follows a speech by Business Minister Michael Fallon this week describing the move as being “based on commercial reality, not ideology.”

Lenny Crook, chairman of the North Lancashire and Cumbria branch, said members would actto protect the service.

He said: “This is the last bastion of big, publicly-owned industries in this country.

“Royal Mail is an organisation which is still making a profit and yet the Government wants to keep the debt of the pension and sell off the part which makes the money.

“It appears there is no good reason for doing it, except it was in the Conservatives’ manifesto at the last election.”

The ballot will gauge the mood of CWU members as part of a dispute against moves towards privatisation.

Asked if members in Lancashire would be willing to take action, Mr Crook said: “I think they would because you have to think about what is at stake, once it is gone, it is gone.

“The people who lose out will be those in rural parts of Lancashire where no private company is going to go and deliver because it does not make financial sense for them.”

A spokesman for the Campaign for Rural England in Lancashire said Royal Mail still depended a “vital service” to many in rural communities.

She added: “Whilst rural broadband plays a key role, the postal service is still a lifeline and one which requires the instrumental physical infrastructure which allows it to happen.

“We hope services will continue to deliver six-days-a-week for the benefit of communities.”

Royal Mail regional operations director Stuart Simpson said legislation would protect services to rural and remote areas and a six-day-a-week collection and delivery service.

He added: “The Postal Services Act 2011 sets out very clearly the minimum requirements of the universal service, they will continue to apply after any sale.

“These include a uniform, affordable tariff for postal services across the UK – including rural and remote areas - as well as six days a week collection and delivery.

“Royal Mail has amongst the highest service specifications of any major European country, these would also continue to apply were Royal Mail to be sold.”

He added private investment was necessary following a decline in people sending letters but a rise in demand for parcel delivery.

The director added: “We need to make significant investment to stay ahead of the competition.

“The Government’s financial position means that this investment must come from the private sector.”

Mr Fallon denied any deal would impact rural communities vowing to force any provate operator to continue the ‘universal service’ offered by Royal Mail.

But, he Government will this week begin to assemble a group of banks to advise it on a possible stock market flotation.

He said: “No responsible party could propose that in the current environment or for that matter in any environment when Royal Mail, run on a fully commercial basis, has the capacity to be cash generative, profitable and perfectly able to raise the capital it needs from the private sector.”