Mail sell-off moves a step closer

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Ministers unveiled plans to mutualise the Post Office today which postal workers warned are a step towards privatising the entire network.

Launching a consultation on the plans Postal Affairs Minister Edward Davey said the network could be on a "clear path" to mutualisation by the end of this Parliament.

The Lib Dem minister told his party's conference in Birmingham that he was determined to make the network "successful and profitable."

He added: "The consultation, Building A Mutual Post Office, published today, sets out the different options for how we might enable sub-postmasters, employees, Post Office customers and local communities, to have a real stake in the future of the Post Office."

The proposals are based on a report earlier this year led by Co-operatives UK which recommended creating a mutual body, such as a company or a co-operative, with members including staff and customers.

The government would transfer ownership of the Post Office to that body, which would have a say in board appointments as well as sharing in profits.

But the Communication Workers Union dismissed the plans as "a distraction" from the real financial problems facing the Post Office.

General secretary Billy Hayes stressed: "The Post Office needs to be sustainable before it can be mutualised and that requires real business solutions and guaranteed funding.

"Dozens of post offices have closed under this government because contracts and services have been taken away, undermining revenues and leaving an uncertain future."

Mr Hayes accused Con-Dem ministers of pursuing an "ideological agenda" of privatisation.

"They are pulling the rug away from central Post Office business plans and cutting key services and revenue streams," he said.

"Their new 'post office locals' model is a blatant downgrading operation which will force 2,000 sub-post offices to close and leave rural areas in particular without access to a range of services."

Mr Hayes urged ministers to abandon privatisation and secure the future of the Post Office as part of a modernised Royal Mail.