Royal Mail needs share ownership: ifs ProShare

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Employee share ownership makes businesses more profitable and efficient so it should be retained within Royal Mail, an industry professional has told a parliamentary committee.

Alexy Armitage, head of employee share ownership for ifs ProShare, told the postal services bill committee that the postal service and its workers would benefit from such a scheme.

Ms Armitage was speaking during discussions on a bill that will lead to 10 per cent of shares in Royal Mail going to staff when it is privatised.

She said the importance of employee share schemes were being lost because of a "fundamental lack of understanding of what share ownership means".

Ms Armitage told the hearing that these schemes have been beneficial to UK companies since they were first introduced 30 years ago.

She said: "They are a useful, simple and tax-efficient savings mechanisms for employees of all income levels, delivering benefits not only for employees but for employers and the wider economy too."

In October the government announced plans to privatise Royal Mail and offer an employee share ownership scheme that would be the largest of its kind of any privatised organisation.

Ms Armitage pointed to big UK household names such as BT and Sainsbury's which had introduced such schemes. She said there was a "wealth of UK and international evidence" showing that employee share ownership can lead to higher productivity and financial performance, more innovation, lower staff turnover and improved employee advocacy.

She said: "The government must ensure that a privatised Royal Mail offers such plans if they want to reap these benefits. Ifs ProShare would like to see HM Revenue & Customs approved all-employee share plans made available to all Royal Mail employees when the company is privatised.

[bag69]

When will they realise that we are so overworked, pushed to the limit etc, that giving us shares will not make any difference. It wont make us more productive or efficient. The companies that use this system look after their staff and value them, so you might well go the extra mile for them. We already have to do that. If we dont we get conducted for it. Not our fault that management have unrealistic plans that never work. Trust me it is not down to the workforce. You can only get so much blood out of a stone, no matter how hard you try!