Mandelson backlash over Royal Mail plan

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2008/1 ... mail-plan/

by René Lavanchy

ROYAL MAIL’S future is set to cause a showdown between the Government, the Labour Party and the unions after Lord Mandelson appeared to back privatisation of the postal service this week.

MPs and affiliated unions want to confront the new Business Secretary over an interview he gave to the Financial Times, in which he said he wanted to part-privatise the postal operator when he was trade and industry secretary ten years ago. “If I had not been forced to resign, it would have happened,” he said.

His comments contradict the policy agreed by Labour’s National Policy Forum at Warwick for a “wholly publicly owned, integrated Royal Mail group”.

A senior source told Tribune this week that unions were planning a response.

Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle, a member of the Business and Enterprise Select Committee, said Lord Mandelson had opened a can of worms: “The questions we’ve asked and the answers we’ve been given mean we need to ask a lot more questions about Royal Mail. I believe that Royal Mail should be owned by the Government.”

Appearing before the committee this week, Lord Mandelson insisted that he had no pre-conceived plans for Royal Mail, and said he had not been interviewed on the subject recently.

“I remain strongly committed to the Royal Mail. What we want to see is it being efficient, modernised, viable in the face of domestically changing structural conditions.”

The Hooper review of the postal service, which the Commuincation Workers Union fears could call for privatisation, is due to report soon. Lord Mandelson said its initial findings “paint a stark picture of the postal market”.

[borders]

Update on Pensions and the Future of Royal Mail Group
25 October 2008

It is has been a very frustrating last few months. Very little has come out of CWUHQ and we have had little to tell everyone in return.

However, there has been much activity going on in the background.

There have been numerous meetings with Government Minister and with Royal Mail and with the Hooper Review Team.

All are agreed that the status quo cannot continue and in addition the Union have secured via the Labour Government a commitment NOT to privatise Royal Mail to the corporate vultures.

Recent events however mean we are still in difficulties. The “credit crunch” has put the Pension deficit up to around £4.1 billion – the next review is in March 2009. Make no mistake, if the issue isn’t sorted then RM may try to worsen the Pension Scheme again.

Please also note that we have NOT agreed the Pension arrangements. A National Ballot will be held if no revised deal based on a final salary can be negotiated. You , the members will make the final decision.

Although RM have announced profits up on last year the figures are deceiving. The investment for automation to improve efficiency has not gone in. RM have already asked for around £8 billion from Government due to the mess. Competitors continue to cherry pick vast chunks of the industry. The profit in PO Counters is not real as the Network is subsidised.

The position of one year skint , the next year ok , the following years skint and so on is thus continuing ! Crozier’s pay has now topped £8.3 million for the last 5 years and he can take a full pension after 30 years . We have to work a full 45 years to get a full pension.

The good news though is that there are indications that Government may take off RM, the pension liabilities thus freeing up cash for the industry.

The bad news is that the new Business Minister Peter Mandelson has gone public with his views on a partial privatisation. The Union have made representations to Government and we must see what happens. My own personal view is that he knew what the deal was with our Union and the Government before he arrived – he has chosen to deliberately ignore this. He should be sacked from his position.

The Hooper review will report in the next few weeks – possibly within the month and from there the real decisions will come out.

Royal Mail’s stance at present however is that they are STILL refusing to share their business plan with us. Around 14 Mail Centres are up for closure and these are likely to be balloted on strike action if nothing is sorted out.

NO Mail Centre is safe and no one should assume that fat redundancy cheques will come out if it is selected. VR is at the discretion of RM and depends on them honouring agreements.

For Delivery Offices , the position is still the same – up to 1 in 3 could go in the future.

Finally, please do not assume it is all bad news ! Nationally the Union have been fighting hard for you. The stakes are very high and we are making progress albeit against fierce opposition who want to break up and flog off the industry.

Please pass on this report and encourage people to submit their email details to us. Thanks.

[Big Daz]

Thanks Borders

Ive sent that to some CWU members in my D.O.

[borders]

ok Big Daz , does not make really good reading, seems all is still to play for ?

[Big Daz]

Indeed,lots of guessing and speculation.

Ive said it before and ive said it again we will not be sold off this side of a general election and contuary to the the opinion spread by many that the tories will privatise RM Group or part of the group that is NOT their policy as they dont have a policy yet on the future of Royal Mail and will not have a policy untill they have studied the Hooper report as and when its released.

If you look at the following from parliment this week it drops a big hint as to what conservative policy will look like when its finally made.

Alan Duncan, the Conservative shadow business minister, said: "It's great news that the Royal Mail is turning a profit. But it also highlights the folly of the Government's policy on post offices on two counts.

"First; why are the Government still closing post offices when the network is making more than a million pounds a week?

"Second: why does Peter Mandelson seem so intent on part-privatisation of the Royal Mail when it's making a healthy profit?"

Billy and Dave are meeting Alan Duncan and Charles Hendry (shadow postal services minister) next month to discuss RM group.

[brothermagrew]

http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2008/1 ... -mail-plan

The Hooper review of the postal service, which the Commuincation Workers Union fears could call for privatisation, is due to report soon. Lord Mandelson said its initial findings “paint a stark picture of the postal market”.

Granted but what has apparently been overlooked is that Lord Mandelson also said during his appearance before the Business and Enterprise Committee on Tuesday 21st October 2008 was that there was no set timetable for the Hooper Review and that he may ask Hooper to widen the review to examing additional factors. He also said as of today (referring to 21st) re-iterating that there was no time table of publication.

His appearance before the Committee can be viewed from the House of Commons website although the main reference to Royal Mail comes near the end.

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Video ... ingId=2566

[k979aaa]

It would not surprise me one bit that the lord of the fLIEs would spring upon us all his will !. It is now for all of us to take to the center of the stage and make our presence felt !. With unity in our heart's and soul's we should realize the goals which we all strive for and have been fought for by our forefathers!. We will never concede to the butcher's of our service and we all may pay a heavy price for our stand!. FOR I DO NOT ASK OF THIS LIGHTLY BUT WITH A HEAVY HEART AND MUCH SADNESS BUT WITH COURAGE AND STEADFASTNESS WE WILL PREVAIL IN THE GOODNESS TIME!.

[borders]

Flipping heck K , you been on the pop !!!

[heapsy]

It would not surprise me one bit that the lord of the fLIEs would spring upon us all his will !. It is now for all of us to take to the center of the stage and make our presence felt !. With unity in our heart's and soul's we should realize the goals which we all strive for and have been fought for by our forefathers!. We will never concede to the butcher's of our service and we all may pay a heavy price for our stand!. FOR I DO NOT ASK OF THIS LIGHTLY BUT WITH A HEAVY HEART AND MUCH SADNESS BUT WITH COURAGE AND STEADFASTNESS WE WILL PREVAIL IN THE GOODNESS TIME!.

It's like the Henry V all over again... once more into the breach dear freinds, once more.....

[dvbuk55]

I don't share the optimism shown by some. The pensions issue is closed, there is no going back, because that would merely be creating the circumstances for a repeat of the deficit we are now experiencing. I do believe that there will be an attempt to denigrate the pension even further next year and that CAN be defended, not least of all because inroads have already been conceded this year. The new pension scheme is in place already, the extended working life is a fact for all those younger members and we should therefore forget that issue and concentrate on increasing pay (and thereby the pension) and decreasing the working week bringing the working life down, in comparison to those of us who have worked forty hours a week for forty years, to work for 35 hours for however many extra years is certainly achievable and indeed a necessity in view of the increase in mail.

On privatisation I believe there will indeed be a partial sell off either by this government but certainly under the tories. Mandelson hasn't been brought back by Brown merely to be pilloried and sacked again. Worryingly the Hooper review goes on and on and on and may even be extended.

One of the major problems we face as a workforce is the fact the we, despite the criticism to the contrary, have experienced change after change after change without cease for about 8 or 9 years. We have never had an extended period where we have been able to maintain a stable work pattern, the reason being we are led by profiteers and not service industry personnel. Change has never been structured and consistent, we have been misdirected too many times in the interests of cost saving without due regard to the service we are supposed to provide.

[norbert]

Thanks Borders

Ive sent that to some CWU members in my D.O.

You have to look at Mandy's "non-answer " about RM being more efficient etc - The New Labour way is bringing in Consultants , "Personalties " from the "magic circle " targets etc for their public sector " reforms " - Quell surprise they don't work as they are ill-conceived , seem to have failure built into them , possibly not deliberately but because they haven't listened to people who know better how to run things on behalf of the customer rather than the producer .

So next step is "Plan B" - As for our beloved pie enthusiast , he's being a bit naive saying Mandy should be sacked- McBean hasn't brought the " Prince of Darkness " in for nothing as someone quite rightly pointed out .

Mandy has been quite clever with the wooden spoon over the PO as it's a smokescreen to divert attention from the other Mandy story , if anything the Tories have shot themselves in the foot as they could capitalized on the bit about the Russian Oil Baron & Mandy , unfortunately Osbourne was involved too , TBH noone expected anything less from Mandy , an oily Old Etonian Tory Toff and a Russian who thinks it's 1920's Chicago

[Big Daz]

As for our beloved pie enthusiast , he's being a bit naive saying Mandy should be sacked- McBean hasn't brought the " Prince of Darkness " in for nothing as someone quite rightly pointed out .

Whatever Mandy does with RM has to be in the constrains of offical policy, the timing of bringing Mandy in may suggest GB delibratley waited to place him untill after the RM issue for offical labour policy had been settled. It also could be GB wants PM to be concentrating on the big issues rather than trying to work out how to privatise RM.

Effectively GB has set PM a challenge to make RM a 100% publicly owned success story irerspective of PM's individual beliefs.

As a member of the governmnet he is bound by collective responsibity.

I imagine the cabinet will play a big part in determing the final government policy on RM after the review is completed, and they are by no means of the same view as Mandy!

[norbert]

As for our beloved pie enthusiast , he's being a bit naive saying Mandy should be sacked- McBean hasn't brought the " Prince of Darkness " in for nothing as someone quite rightly pointed out .

Whatever Mandy does with RM has to be in the constrains of offical policy, the timing of bringing Mandy in may suggest GB delibratley waited to place him untill after the RM issue for offical labour policy had been settled. It also could be GB wants PM to be concentrating on the big issues rather than trying to work out how to privatise RM.

Effectively GB has set PM a challenge to make RM a 100% publicly owned success story irerspective of PM's individual beliefs.

As a member of the governmnet he is bound by collective responsibity.

I imagine the cabinet will play a big part in determing the final government policy on RM after the review is completed, and they are by no means of the same view as Mandy!

" Efficiency " usually means Gordon Brown's " efficiency programmes ", knackering public services and down the road for us - so Billy is right in that respect - the Big Four Consultancy Firms will do all right though .

[dvbuk55]

As for our beloved pie enthusiast , he's being a bit naive saying Mandy should be sacked- McBean hasn't brought the " Prince of Darkness " in for nothing as someone quite rightly pointed out .

Whatever Mandy does with RM has to be in the constrains of offical policy, the timing of bringing Mandy in may suggest GB delibratley waited to place him untill after the RM issue for offical labour policy had been settled. It also could be GB wants PM to be concentrating on the big issues rather than trying to work out how to privatise RM.

Effectively GB has set PM a challenge to make RM a 100% publicly owned success story irerspective of PM's individual beliefs.

As a member of the governmnet he is bound by collective responsibity.

I imagine the cabinet will play a big part in determing the final government policy on RM after the review is completed, and they are by no means of the same view as Mandy!

Well I think he has been brought in to be the hate figure for unpopular choices - nobody likes him now so it isn't such a huge step to blame him for all the "bad" choices that are going to be needed to weather this recession, which I believe is going to be a humdinger, far worse than any I've ever experienced in over 40 years in the workplace. I suppose RM is the Faberge egg in the bottom of the basket for Labour and whatever Warwick or the "current policy" is - a week is a long time in politics as Harold Wilson said and expediency will rule in the end. I'm not entirely sure where the challenge Gordon Brown has set Mandelson has come from - 100% public owned company?, before the result of the Hooper report is published and Mandelson wants to extend the purview,- no way Jose.

[Big Daz]

PM says he could have made a sell off work back in the day, but back in the day the market wasn't opend up to competition!