Postal protest begins as push against privatisation begins

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Postal workers have expressed their opinion about the government’s imminent privatisation of the Royal Mail by participating in a protest outside Parliament.

The protest was instigated yesterday with a meeting between Business Secretary Vince Cable and a committee of MP’s set for today. The meeting will be used to discuss details about the proposed privatisation of one of Britain’s longest nationalised entities.

The protestors dressed up in highway robber outfits and was seen holding banners reading ‘The Great British Royal Mail Robbery’ to make their views clear to Vince Cable prior to his talks with the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

Cable is set to be quizzed on about the value of the Royal Mail business and will have to disclose information about the proposed employee share scheme. He will also have to produce details about the protection of the universal service and valuations of the company assets.

The deadline for purchasing shares was 12am today and trading is set to open on Friday with things expected to be in full swing by next Tuesday latest. This is only a day before the votes are counted for a recent ballot undertaken by the Communication Workers Union about whether they should take strike action.

Labour have risen concerns about the privatisation of the Royal Mail and have stated that they believe the Government should be selling the company for a lot more than it is.

This comes after recent forecasts that indicate investors are set to benefit from massive profits from the business.

Part of the sale share terms is that 10% of the company is placed into an employee share scheme so that workers are granted a stake in the organisation they have worked hard for.

However it is understood that 368 of the Royal Mail’s 150,000 strong staff have decided against accepting the free shares.

The Communication Workers Union are predicted to advocate industrial action against the privatisation and are expected to instigate a strike at any point after the conclusion of the ballot on the 23rd of October.

The Shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, stated: “It’s a dream for City speculators and hedge funds, but it’s a nightmare for the taxpayer, who ultimately doesn’t want this to happen anyway and is now being hugely short-changed.”

Umunna’s standpoint has found support from Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU, who identified: “It’s no surprise that the Government has sold the postal service cheap to its friends in the City. The public didn’t want the service sold and will get a worse service as customers. Now they also know they are getting a bad deal as taxpayers too.”

Cable has responded to Umunna in letter and has stressed the importance of getting a proper valuation of the company for the sake of taxpayers and outstanding workers. He cited that this will ensure that the sale will go to reliable investors who will take the company in a positive direction in the long term.

“To achieve value for the taxpayer, we set the price range based on extensive consultation with investors.
“We have also undertaken a market standard ‘book building’ exercise during which the management have been communicating to investors the key highlights of the business and its future potential.

“This process should ensure that the price paid by investors appropriately reflects the value of the business, while creating an enduring shareholder base amongst long-term institutional investors and positive aftermarket performance over the long term.