Public asked to back Royal Mail campaign

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UNION chiefs have issued a rallying call to the the ppeople of Peterborough to get behind a national campaign to oppose the proposed privatisation of the Royal Mail.

More than 30 members of the public attended the local launch of the national campaign Keep The Post Public at the John Clare Theatre, in Broadway, last night.

The event was organised by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and attended by city members of Unison and Peterborough Trades Union Council (PTUC).

The call for people to complain to their MP comes as a Government report branded Royal Mail as an “unsustainable business” and recommended the introduction of a new Postal Services Bill by the end of the year, which could see parts of the service being sold off.

At the event, Paul Moffatt, regional secretary of the CWU, which represents more than 2,000 employees and retired employees of Royal Mail in the PE postcode area, said that post services were now under threat in the area.

He added: “The Royal Mail is a public service, not for private profit,

“It provides a unique, one price goes anywhere, daily delivery service that no private company would provide.

“It provides a vital public service to our communities, rural and urban alike, but the Government has announced proposals to break it up.”

City MP Stewart Jackson was criticised for saying he supported the semi-privatisation of the Royal Mail.

He was unable to attend because he was in Parliament. But in a letter to CWU branch secretary Michael Williams, he said: “I do not believe that a wholly publicly-owned Royal Mail is commercially viable in the near future, given the Royal Mail’s current parlous financial state.

“Also, especially in view of the very poor public sector debt legacy bequeathed to the Coalition Government by its predecessor and the need to reduce public spending.”

But Mr Williams said: “I find it distressing that our elected MP fails to represent the views of those who elected him.”

Peterborough Labour party member Audrey Chalmers said she was speaking as a “gran” at the meeting.

She said: “The reason I like the Royal Mail is that I like getting my letters and sending my grand-children cards on their birthday.

“I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t put my stamp on and know the letter can go anywhere, that is what we are fighting for.”

But one city businessman, who employs two members of staff, said it was crucial not to alienate the small businesses with strikes.

He said: “I couldn’t afford to go on holiday this year because of the recession. I’d ask the unions to make sure they help people like me, who rely on their services to deliver their parcels.”