The News Line: Editorial
Friday, 16 May 2008
Stop Royal Mail being thrown to the private equity wolves!
POSTCOMM, the postal regulator has called for the part privatisation
of the Royal Mail, supposedly to safeguard the quality of the UK=92s
mail delivery service.
In fact, any decline in =91quality=92 is a consequence of the 2006
government imposed breaking up of the postal monopoly, when 19 private
companies, including TNT Post were allowed to hive off the most
profitable parts of the industry.
Postcomm further warned that Royal Mail=92s financial difficulties would
worsen unless bold action was taken.
In fact, only a fraction of the billions that the Royal Mail has made
for the government, would be needed to end all talk of a financial
crisis!
Postcomm chairman Nigel Stapleton is said to favour private equity
capitalists taking over the Royal Mail.
Postcomm is to make this proposal to the so-called =91independent=92
review on the future of postal services that has been commissioned by
the government=92s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory
Reform.
One week ago the independent review re****ted in an initial finding
that the =91liberalisation=92 of Royal Mail, which still controls 90% of
the postal industry, had produced =91no significant benefits=92 for either
households or small businesses.
It warned there was now a threat to the Royal Mail=92s financial
stability, and that this would threaten the universal service, and the
collection and delivery to all UK addresses.
The government sponsored =91independent=92 panel also warned that the
=91status quo is not tenable=92.
=91The policies needed to establish a sustainable future will be the
focus of our final re****t later this year,=92 it said.
The way has been prepared by the government sponsored review for
Postcomm to submit its privatisation proposal for its final re****t.
With the status quo untenable, the argument will be that it is
impossible to go back to 100% state owner****p, and that part
privatisation is the only way forward, with full privatisation the
real destination.
Royal Mail and over 100,000 workers are about to be thrown to the
wolves of equity capitalism where sla****ng wages, pensions, jobs and
trade union rights are the only known route back to profitability for
the bosses, along with pauperism for what will be, by that time, a
casualised workforce =96 if this is allowed to happen.
All that CWU leader Billy Hayes could do yesterday was to say: =91This
is another bad decision by Postcomm following their many bad decisions
which have led to the problems in the industry.
=91Postcomm are again overstepping their remit with this re****t. They
have consistently been obsessed with the drive to develop the
competition model and calling for privatisation is another step from
an organisation that is ignoring their public service obligation.=92
In fact, what is required from the CWU leaders is not a comment but a
call to the union to take indefinite industrial action to stop the
privatisation drive.
The CWU leaders are incapable of giving such a lead.
Their record in the last year is appalling.
When members took strike action over the massive changes in the
conditions of service that the Royal Mail and the government required
last year, they stopped the strikes in favour of secret talks and sold
out their members.
They are now doing the same on the pensions issue.
Royal Mail announced last year that the final salary pension was
unsustainable and the union leaders agreed with them, that this
pension scheme was no longer workable and would have to be replaced.
That is a great way to defend the gains of the postal workers.
The consequence of these betrayals is that the management and the
government have got their way on wages and terms and conditions of
service, and are getting their way on the pensions issue, to the point
where they are ready to go forward to the privatisation of the
industry.
CWU members must demand that their leaders resign and make way for
leaders who are willing to fight. Indefinite strike action must be
called to defend the final salary pensions scheme and stop the
privatisation drive.
http://www.wrp.org.uk/news/3176
|
