First class support for privatisation as only a hundred posties snub offer of free Royal Mail shares
RMC COMMENT:Prat! read (and report on)the rest of the forum!
Only one hundred Posties have turned down the offer of free shares in the £3 billion Royal Mail privatisation despite threatening the first nationwide strikes at the postal operator for four years over the move.
Sources yesterday claimed almost all of the 150,000 Royal Mail staff have lapped up the shares, likely to be worth as much as £2,000 per person when the final float price is set next week.
Ministers and Royal Mail chiefs are said to be jubilant at the scale of the support from the workers given union claims of fierce opposition to the entire process.
The CWU union earlier this summer said 96 per cent of staff were opposed to privatisation and last week pushed ahead with a strike ballot.
One employee on a Royal Mail internet forum yesterday urged colleagues not to fall for the "Free Shares Con", claiming they were no substitute for "a proper rate of basic pay, a decent pension scheme and job security". But as of last night just six colleagues had replied.
RMC COMMENT:Prat! read (and report on)the rest of the forum!
Royal Mail staff are being given 10 per cent of the company in the privatisation, the biggest attempted by the Government since the days of John Major. Any employee not wanting to receive the shares has to "opt out" by October 7th.
A CWU spokesman last night insisted the huge take-up of the shares by the workforce was to be expected. He said: "Why would people on £19,000 a year turn down free money? It doesn't show they are supportive of the privatisation and at the first chance they will get they will sell the shares. The staff would not see this as supporting the company."
But sources in Westminster yesterday claimed the widespread success of the privatisation process so far was such that it could ultimately help Business Minister Michael Fallon return to the Cabinet in any autumn reshuffle by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Royal Mail shares are due to begin trading on October 15, with City sources claiming high demand from institutional investors for the stock. The CWU union's ballot of workers closes the following day. If a 'Yes' vote is returned the earliest strike action could take place is on October 23rd, causing huge disruption to the company in the run-up to Christmas, and almost certainly affecting the value of shares held by the staff.
Some Royal Mail employees have criticised the CWU for not doing more to oppose the float, but others are now talking about what they would accept in any deal with Royal Mail's management. Formally, the strike ballot is centred around a row over pay and pensions. But last week CWU general secretary Dave Ward admitted it was the last chance for staff to have a say on their terms and conditions before the privatisation.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in July, Michael Fallon urged posties to accept Royal Mail's pay offer of 8.6 per cent over three years, explaining: "It looks pretty reasonable compared to the 1 per cent a year cap for nurses, teachers and armed forces."
