Queen's Speech: Controversial plans for RM to go-ahead

[walksyo]

The Queen has given the go ahead then.

just how excatly are they guna privatize us????? TNT (according to reports) aren't interested and are lookin at forming a merger with DHL...this is after DHL have sold parts of there business off to Home Delivery Network-and TNT are lookin to off load there DSA coz it's loosing them far to much revenue....CVC (again according to reports) aren't that interested either......
SO how can they sell something nobody wants to buy????

[walksyo]

Maybe we should all wait and see what form of part privatation is put forward by the ConDem coalition before condeming it out of hand ourselves.

The Tories were in favour of full privatisation, as apposed to the Lib Dems who preferred the John Lewis style partnership. The John Lewis model is very successful with all employees owning part of the firm, plus receiving a twice yearly share of profits, all paid pro rata, unlike the current Royal Mail set up, where the top directors trouser millions, other management grades trouser thousands and your humble postman at the bottom of the pile gets bugger all.

The people most at risk from privatisation are all the management grades, anybody who has ever worked in the private sector can see Royal Mail is far too top heavy. Any private venture involvement would seize on that fact almost immediately leading to a massive management cull, with colossal savings potential.

So surely it would be best for the CWU to wait and see whats suggested by the government first before being so dismissive, yes we do want our terms and conditions improved and protected, along with a long term solution to the pension problem. However I wouldnt expect to see many of my colleagues striking again anytime soon after last years fiasco, plus the Unite members have so much more to be concerned about than us, so lets let them fight their own battles without piggy backing off the the CWU yet again.

sounds good...BUT..who would pay the pension deficit off is this were the case???? there's £10 billion adrift..................

[Martin Walsh]

Walksyo I think the plans are very different this time around and we are facing the classic three card trick by the LIB CON Government.

First and Foremost they take on the Pension Defcit but based on the fact that it does not cost a thing in the first few years. Remember there is only a defcit in the pension scheme as the legal rules are that the pension fund has to be able to pay everyone in the pension fund their full money if everyone was to retire on the same day ie tomorrow. This Government can easily demonstrate that the pension defcit is a future cost which can be managed over time.

The real prize for this Government is that they get their hands on our pension assets. Last year our pension assets grew to 25 billon pounds. The Government taking on the defcit allows them to take on the assets which would protentially give them the ability to reduce the cost of borrowing by the biggest repayment in over 30 years. So you can see the attraction.

This time they are not looking for a joint venture with a big foreign postal company but are going to do a similar share flotation as BT or BG where they offer shares out to private investors and employees knowing over time they will find their hands into the big companies.

It will start off as a 49% share offer similar to BT but will then go to 100 % as all those other companies did.

Anyone who believes that things are as bad as they can get now , have not got a clue, once you are answerable to shareholders then you really do find contracting out the norm , asset stripping increasing and agency staff replacing company staff. Remember BT started on with more or less the same numbers at us in the early 80s they now have 55 000 left compared to us in the public sector of 140 000. A lot of work has been outsourced to India along with other attacks.

We can win this attack as we did in 1994 , 2006 and last year. This Govenment is not stable enough but we do need to campaign in a more effective way then last year.

[falkor]

Great post Dingo, I think you have summed up what is going to happen perfectly, the only thing I can’t agree on is that defeating privatisation this time is a fight we can win.

Royal Mail has been a millstone around the neck of government for decades, David Cameron and his cronies will push privatisation through as a matter of urgency 100% guaranteed, I believe the coalition won’t last the course but it will last long enough for privatisation to go through.

You say “We can win this attack” the union is all of the members not just the guys at the top so what happens when union members realise how much money in free and preferential shares they will be offered? it won’t be £400 pound here £400 there it will be thousands maybe tens of thousands, short term gain I know but people will take the money and union support at grass roots will be lost.