Privatisation: 'No Alternative' Says Vince Cable

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05 ... 11230.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

Royal Mail Privatisation: 'No Alternative' Says Vince Cable Despite Huge Profit Rise

Business Secretary Vince Cable has insisted there is "no alternative" to controversial plans privatising the Royal Mail, despite the postal service announcing a huge jump in profits to £440m.

The organisation faces a "fundamental threat" from email and must be reformed in order to survive, the senior Lib Dem insisted.

The performance is expected to encourage the Government to cash in on the turnaround by pressing ahead with a privatisation this year.

"The point is that it is not this particular government adopting an ideological position," Cable told BBC Radio 4 Today. "We are following in the footsteps of the last government that recognised that certain things had to happen in order for Royal Mail to survive because it is faced with a fundamental threat to its business from email."

Ahead of a possible stock market floatation, results for this year are more than double the £152 million profit in 2012.

Mr Cable said around 10% of shares should go to the work force.

"It isn't a bribe, but it gives them a stake in the ownership," he added.

Unions have warned that services will go into decline if the business is sold off.

Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), whose members will be balloted on the proposals this week, claimed loopholes would allow the universal service obligation to be eroded.

"There are opportunities for them to down dial the terms of the universal service in the future," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"People who live in the suburbs, people who live in rural areas, people who live in villages will not get the same service under a private company."

The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) said the plans for privatisation should be postponed to prevent an "even deeper crisis" for Britain's post offices.

It is concerned that a privatised Royal Mail would not feel obligated to keep services with the Post Office network.

Chief executive Moya Greene, who last year returned the core postal business to profitability after four successive years of losses, said it was a strong performance and that the transformation of Royal Mail was under way.

The core postal business, which delivers the six-days-a-week universal service to 29 million addresses, reported operating profits of £331 million and improved its margin from 0.5% to 3.9%.

Parcel deliveries now account for almost half of the group's revenues of £9.3 billion in the last year.

[crammypostie1]

Vince cable just get this thing sold and show me the money, im looking to go on holiday and the extra coin may help stretch me and the missus to go on a world cruise. Show me the money vince

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Vince cable just get this thing sold and show me the money, im looking to go on holiday and the extra coin may help stretch me and the missus to go on a world cruise. Show me the money vince

Please read at least some of the responses to your posts - or perhaps you really want to appear as our Pet Troll.

The reason I keep asking this is you are in danager of spreading misleading information and thats one thing, (among many) I hate.

[fishtank]

The organisation faces a "fundamental threat" from email and must be reformed in order to survive, the senior Lib Dem insisted.

You can do better than that Vince.
Email isn't exactly new is it?

[Lounge Lizard]

The organisation faces a "fundamental threat" from email and must be reformed in order to survive, the senior Lib Dem insisted.

You can do better than that Vince.
Email isn't exactly new is it?

I'm not sure that he can.
Turned seventy earlier this month and his mind isn't as sharp as it once was.

[houseoflords]

Vince Cable needs to go in a home, jibbering old fart.

[hubbahubba]

I Thought crummypost was against older people remaining in employment,in which case Mr Cable should surely step down?

[pants123]

Vince Cable has clearly been BRAINWASHED to come out with such utter rubbish from his gob..

[OnAFlyer]

How do you send parcels in an email Vince? F*cking idiot.

[pjthebear]

Less than 2 years to go vince! You foolish brain washed puppet!!

[POSTMAN]

:vcfo

[UnhappyGremlin]

I don't think e-mail is RM's biggest threat. Privatisation is.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I don't think e-mail is RM's biggest threat. Privatisation is.

I don't think Privatisation is the biggest threat, Royal Mails own management style is.....

[UnhappyGremlin]

I don't think e-mail is RM's biggest threat. Privatisation is.

I don't think Privatisation is the biggest threat, Royal Mails own management style is.....

But bullying and harassment isn't a management style really, is it?
There are plenty of threats that face and could damage RM, like unfair competition being allowed to continue, we could all run a good business if we got some other firm to do most of our work at a loss to them. Like continuing to allow other firms to cherry pick the profitable sections of our work.
Vince Cable and the Government as a whole are so out of touch with RM's current status, they are basing their views on information given by equally inept people such as the RM board, who, let's face, are about as truthful and reliable as Jeffrey Archer.

[Puffin]

That "fundamental threat" from email will still be there whoever owns royal mail.