Voice of the Mirror: Royal Mail fatcats are squeezing out every pound and we want our service back

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Jeremy Corbyn said the Royal Mail was 'sold off on the cheap' by the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives while in coalition and now 'hundreds of millions are being siphoned off by shareholders'

Royal Mail shareholders have been paid over £800m in the past four years while the company scaled back the number of postal workers, delivery offices and planned cuts to pension schemes for employees.

The company – privatised by the coalition government in 2013 – paid out the lucrative dividends of £626m to non-employee private shareholders between October 2013 and the end of the last financial year, according to a Labour analysis.

A further £86m was paid to employee shareholders and the Government received £81m during the two-year privatisation transition.

The Labour leader added: “Labour will end this rip off, bring Royal Mail back into public ownership and run it in the interests of the many, not the few.”

Labour MP Helen Hayes has previously claimed that between the privatisation of Royal Mail in October 2013 and May 2017, 142 delivery offices have been closed by the company – around 10 per cent of the total. Ms Hayes added that the company has sold more than £200m worth of property.

Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, told the Daily Mirror: “A massive £500,000 a day paid in dividends to mainly hedge funds and city shareholders will sicken the public.

“This money should have been used to modernise Royal Mail giving the public a first-class service alongside protecting post workers’ terms and conditions.

“At a time of school cuts, hospital closures and record use of food banks it is outrageous to see such an abuse of funds which should be in the public hands.”

The figures come after the company won a High Court injection preventing a planned 48-hour strike by postal workers, who were set to protest over pensions and pay.


A Royal Mail spokesperson described the dividends as a “good thing, not a bad thing”, adding: “Our dividend payments have benefited the many Royal Mail people and private investors who own the company. They also benefit the many UK pension funds who have invested in Royal Mail on behalf of UK workers.

“Alongside the legitimate payment of dividends, Royal Mail has invested £1.5bn in the company since privatisation.

“In state ownership, Royal Mail was starved of investment. Royal Mail is one of a few large companies that pay substantially more in pension contributions than dividends. Since privatisation, we have paid £1.4bn into our pension funds and £800m in dividends to shareholders, including colleagues.

“We don’t recognise the figure of 142 delivery offices closing since privatisation. In fact, less than 4 per cent (51) of our delivery offices have closed since then. During that time, letter volumes have declined by around 12 per cent. Royal Mail has by far the largest delivery office network in the UK and that will continue to be the case.”

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Royal Mail shareholders are being paid £500,000 a day while the service is being slashed

Royal Mail’s greedy owners appear to care far more about squeezing every last pound out of a cherished institution than delivering a first-class service.

They have milked £500,000-a-day in ­dividends for shareholders out of a historic part of Britain that was scandalously sold on the cheap.

Something is deeply wrong when customers suffer higher stamp prices and grafters are shown the door to fund perpetual windfalls for avaricious owners.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable made a terrible mistake by flogging off Royal Mail when he was Business Secretary in a coalition government with the Conservatives .

We want our Royal Mail back to save it for future generations. Let’s stamp out the greed.

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Outrage as it's revealed Royal Mail shareholders are paid £500,000 a day as services are slashed

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More than £626million has been handed to private investors since the service were sold off by the Government four years ago.



Royal Mail shareholders are being paid £500,000 a day while Britain’s postal service is slashed, figures show.

More than £626million has been handed to private investors since the service were sold off by the Government four years ago.

At the same time, dozens of delivery offices have shut and 11,000 staff have been axed, with stamp prices up 12 per cent.

Unions described the “abuse of funds” as “outrageous” and said the huge dividends would “sicken” the public.

But Royal Mail bosses last night insisted the payouts were a “good thing” and claimed they had been “starved of investment” when they were under state control.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Our dividend payments have benefited the many Royal Mail people and private investors who own the company. They also benefit the many UK pension funds who have invested in Royal Mail on behalf of UK workers.

“Alongside the legitimate payment of dividends, Royal Mail have invested £1.5billion in the company since privatisation.

“In state ownership, Royal Mail were starved of investment.”

The revelation comes just 24 hours after the fourth anniversary of the privatisation of Royal Mail and days after they won a court injunction preventing this week’s planned 48-hour strike over pensions, wages and jobs.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union , said: “This money should have been used to modernise Royal Mail. It is outrageous to see such an abuse of funds which should rightly be in public hands.”

[rambo1]

£0.5million a day sounds allot til you work out our wage bill alone is getting on for £13million a day. Also a fair bit of that £0.5million is going to royal mail employees as well.

[Lounge Lizard]

£500,000 a day might be just 4% of the wage bill but it's money that would better be spent invested in the business.