No dogma like old dogma

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/confe ... l-postcomm

* Posted by Billy Hayes
* 09 September 2008

They keep on trying to privatise and it's time for the public to prevent asset strippers from acquiring Royal Mail, says union boss Billy Hayes

Today’s session at Congress will see the CWU move its motion opposing the privatisation of Royal Mail.

Governments may come and go, yet for the past 20 years there’s always been some bright spark proposing to flog it off.

The CWU has already gone through the experience of seeing off pamphlets by the Adam Smith Institute, a Parliamentary Bill from Michael Heseltine, then President of the DTI, in the early 1990s.

We have also gone through the experience of Patricia Hewitt at the DTI trying to sell off Royal Mail to the privatised Dutch Post Office through a joint venture, circa 2001. All very hush hush at the time. And all very unsuccessful.

More recently, we’ve endured Royal Mail management lobbying the Labour Government from 2004 to 2007 to have shares distributed to the staff, and through a Stock Market sale. That effort ended, following the CWU counter-campaigning, when Alistair Darling as DTI Minister rejected management’s proposals in January 2007.

Still, there is no dogma like an old dogma. So now we witness its revival through the medium of the Government-convened Hooper Review of the liberalisation of the postal sector.

Earlier on this year, both the industries regulator Postcomm and Royal Mail management, submitted proposals to the review team for the privatisation of Royal Mail. Postcomm went further, and called for the privatisation and service break up of Royal Mail.

It must be difficult for management to resist the call of privatisation. All those fat share options; all that freedom from anything other than the commercial considerations – how could any public sector manager resist the temptation to become a private entrepreneur?

Particularly, as this allows you to cover-up the fact that for the past four years you failed to prepare Royal Mail for the challenge of competition; failed to deliver an innovative strategy; and refused to identify a role for the industry as a public service in the country’s future.

Postcomm’s support for privatisation is even more galling. After all, earlier this year Hooper’s interim report demonstrated that Postcomm’s management of liberalisation in the mail market had failed to deliver any benefit for the majority of customers.

But Postcomm’s policy had created a financial crisis for Royal Mail.

Postcomm’s policy had resulted in a position whereby 40 per cent of Royal Mail’s most profitable bulk mail was now being part-processed and trunked by the competitors under arrangement to have “access” to Royal Mail’s network.

Yet 99.8% of addressed letters are still being delivered by Royal Mail. This huge imbalance is a simple product of a system whereby Royal Mail in reality subsidised the competition to provide a partial, and hardly innovative, alternative.

Postcomm has blundered away the value of Royal Mail’s economies of scale and scope. In its place, an artificial and parasitic competition exists alongside a financially weakened Royal Mail.

Time for the cover-up then. Hence Postcomm’s proposal to resolve the problems through privatisation and break-up of the industry.

Hooper’s Report is likely to be published shortly after the Labour Party Conference. The CWU believes the atmosphere around the report is unhealthy.

There is a strong possibility that Hooper will support privatisation. This may well take the form of a joint venture with TNT, Deutche Poste, Fed Ex, or some other private equity arrangement.

A joint venture would not require primary legislation in Parliament.

Such a privatisation would almost certainly entail the start of the break-up of Royal Mail. The loss making Post Office Network would have to be subsidised by the tax payer. The profits from Royal Mail would in turn be transferred to the private sector.

This vital national resource with its unique combination of commercial and social services, is once again under serious threat. The CWU is campaigning against this threat. After today’s debate at the TUC, we are organising a demonstration at the Labour Party Conference on Monday 22nd September.

It is time for the public to prevent asset strippers from acquiring Royal Mail. The future of the universal service, and the Post Office Network, depends upon the support of those who will fight for a positive future for Royal Mail.

[pinstripe]

It is time for the public to prevent asset strippers from acquiring Royal Mail. The future of the universal service, and the Post Office Network, depends upon the support of those who will fight for a positive future for Royal Mail.


They won't though. Most are too lazy to do anything other than believe what they are spoon fed, or in this case drip fed. Falling service standards, PO closures, later deliveries, if a newspaper starts saying that it would be better run privately, the general public are not going to investigate, they'll believe whatever they are told, then in ten years time they'll complain about what they gave up without a fight. Let's face it, RM's senior managers want it, the Government wants it, the regulator wants it, the competition(ha-ha) want it, the only ones that don't want it are us and the rest don't care.
In my opinion, RM will be broken up and at least part privatised within two years.....starting now!

[Night Tonic]

What makes you think the public have any more say in it? Did they have a say in the EU? Iraq? ID Cards?

[dvbuk55]

There is no turning back the clock.

Rhetoric isn't going to save us from privatization, nor is public conscience. Look at the privatised energy companies! Making billions and still putting the prices up, is it any wonder the greedy want more of the same with the last big government owned company. Labour of course are gagging for the dosh that would be avavilable to offset their fiscal cock ups - they may even offer a sweetener to the pension fund.

[pinstripe]

What makes you think the public have any more say in it? Did they have a say in the EU? Iraq? ID Cards?

Yes, I agree with you. What we have is the illusion of the power of public opinion. Every MP has been elected by the public, MP's make governments, governments make the rules and the illusion is complete. We (the public) think we have a say is how our country is run when we have none. There are too few MP's who care more about the people that voted for them than whatever Party they belong to'. Their political agenda and personal advancement count more to them than providing the service they were elected to perform.

Back to my point, the public have the 'illusion' of public opinion, they won't use it.

[k979aaa]

There is no turning back the clock.

Rhetoric isn't going to save us from privatization, nor is public conscience. Look at the privatised energy companies! Making billions and still putting the prices up, is it any wonder the greedy want more of the same with the last big government owned company. Labour of course are gagging for the dosh that would be avavilable to offset their fiscal cock ups - they may even offer a sweetener to the pension fund.

The pension fund or the lack their of is the single biggest reason why it will not be sold off with a black hole of 6 billion pound's!. Or two third's of royalmails turnover no one will want to own share's in it apart from :lfo & :cfo !.

[Night Tonic]

i don't even have the illusion of public power. A government gets in onthe basis of a load of promises it won't keep, then what it says goes. Never known it any different. Public opinnon, if there is such a thing, is clouded by all the other problems people have in their lives, including your own, and the postal service won't be top of the list. Feeding the kids next month and paying the rent are now taking second place to 'will i even have a job next month' and it will get tougher yet.

[BELIAL]

There is no turning back the clock.

Rhetoric isn't going to save us from privatization, nor is public conscience. Look at the privatised energy companies! Making billions and still putting the prices up, is it any wonder the greedy want more of the same with the last big government owned company. Labour of course are gagging for the dosh that would be avavilable to offset their fiscal cock ups - they may even offer a sweetener to the pension fund.

The pension fund or the lack their of is the single biggest reason why it will not be sold off with a black hole of 6 billion pound's!. Or two third's of royalmails turnover no one will want to own share's in it apart from :lfo & :cfo !.

Got to disagree, they will try to dissect and sell off the service piecemeal ,and laws will be enacted to exonerate any private buyers from pension obligations. It's fight now or forget it

[TrueBlueTerrier]

There is no turning back the clock.

Rhetoric isn't going to save us from privatization, nor is public conscience. Look at the privatised energy companies! Making billions and still putting the prices up, is it any wonder the greedy want more of the same with the last big government owned company. Labour of course are gagging for the dosh that would be avavilable to offset their fiscal cock ups - they may even offer a sweetener to the pension fund.

The pension fund or the lack their of is the single biggest reason why it will not be sold off with a black hole of 6 billion pound's!. Or two third's of royalmails turnover no one will want to own share's in it apart from :lfo & :cfo !.

Got to disagree, they will try to dissect and sell off the service piecemeal ,and laws will be enacted to exonerate any private buyers from pension obligations. It's fight now or forget it

Yep I agree - there were various mutterings on on-line Blogs and Newspapers while RMC was off-line, about the Government offering an indemnity or protection clause so that who ever takes over RM will not be held liable for past pension revision, which I guess means all Tax Payers will in the end.

[F0zziebear]

Social mail may go the way of the phone box. Imagine twenty years ago life without the public telephone, but look what has happened. There will always be a need for 'postmen' to deliver something. This may become more of a junk mail/parcels and 3D deliveries. I am generally in fabour of the privatisation of bulk collection and sorting and it's a highly automated IT driven industry that requires a small number of people. Deliveries on the otherhand will always require a larger number of peopl to deliver. Businesses will need to bear the cost of delivering to rural areas. This may mean more junk mail in urban areas, but less going to rural places.

What about the person on the street that wants to send a Xmas card to grannie or visa versa. Unfortunately I see this either becoming prohibitively expensive, or protected (though I doubt this very much). Therefore the future of post will be mainly as a marketing tool to people with disposable income. Those in rural areas will lose out.

Knowing the people at the top of the company all of these will be considered, but I doubt anyone has quite worked out exactly how it will work. If they have then I am sure there is room for discussion.

This may sound bleak, but you just have to see where volumes are rising and falling to see the trend.