New move over Royal Mail sell-off

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/national/ ... -1-5627526" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Government is to start tendering in the next few days for a syndicate of banks to advise on a possible flotation of the Royal Mail.

Business Minister Michael Fallon announced the move as he voiced hopes that global advisers on a sell-off will be appointed at the end of May.

Mr Fallon said ministers did not want to be tied to a specific type of sale or deadline for the sell-off, adding that the Government was attracted to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) as the preferred option.

In a speech to the Policy Exchange, he said all options for the privatisation remained on the table, and no final decisions have been made.

Mr Fallon said he will continue to encourage the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to hold talks over the structure of an employee share scheme.


The union is opposed to the sell-off, warning that jobs, terms and conditions and services will suffer, especially deliveries to rural areas.

Mr Fallon said: "Unless Royal Mail has the capability in the future to access equity markets, every £1 that it borrows is another £1 on the national debt.

"That means growing the national debt. 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.

"A change of ownership in Royal Mail will not mean that Royal Mail can stop delivering to rural areas. Royal Mail will remain the UK's designated universal postal service provider and must continue to provide a six day-a-week service throughout the UK."

Mr Fallon said the Government will make a commercial decision, not one based on ideology.

[postm@np@t]

It's that term 6 day week delivery that gets me. If you saw the dispatches program, TNT interpreted the 6 day delivery as 3 days here and 3 days there

[UnhappyGremlin]

Problem with 6 days a week delivery, in a couple of years time, when we've been asset stripped to hell, the board will just bleat how it's unsustainable, and we will move to 5 days and tens of thousands of jobs will go.
They're just trying to persuade everyone that things will be rosy, and the service won't suffer or get more expensive, and we'll still have jobs, but they have lied so often in the past I just can't believe them.

[meako]

Look at the 6 day delivery like this, At the moment if your on say park and loop, and lets say you and your colleague do 34 walk and 75 walk ( hypothetical of course ) Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. New private manager moves in.......Now then , ah yes let's get rid off 34 man, okay, 75 man , you will take out 34 walk Monday, Wednesday, Friday....You will take out 75 walk, Tuesday. Thursday, Saturday = 6 days a week delivery... ( of course you will prep both everyday ) = 50% Delivery staff not needed ! basic pay, minimum wage. It's on the way ! Nice big fat profits for the owners !

[UnhappyGremlin]

Look at the 6 day delivery like this, At the moment if your on say park and loop, and lets say you and your colleague do 34 walk and 75 walk ( hypothetical of course ) Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. New private manager moves in.......Now then , ah yes let's get rid off 34 man, okay, 75 man , you will take out 34 walk Monday, Wednesday, Friday....You will take out 75 walk, Tuesday. Thursday, Saturday = 6 days a week delivery... ( of course you will prep both everyday ) = 50% Delivery staff not needed ! basic pay, minimum wage. It's on the way ! Nice big fat profits for the owners !

I think while we have the USO, we have to deliver 6 days a week to every address.
But, there is nothing to stop a private firm from trying to opt out of the USO, whether or not they would be able to is another story.