The impact of independence on Scottish postal services

[fishtank]

The impact of independence on Scottish postal services

Scottish independence could have a significant impact on postal services in Scotland
and on the lives of those employed in the industry. It is difficult to predict what
arrangement would be put in place for delivery of postal services in an independent
Scotland, and there are a number of significant complications. Royal Mail and Post
Office Ltd have significant networks in Scotland, the future of which would need to be
the subject of careful consideration.

Who would be the postal operator?
Royal Mail would not be bound legally to provide services in Scotland, raising the
possibility of establishing a new Scottish postal services provider. However the huge
set up costs involved suggest more likely options are some form of service agreement
with Royal Mail, the transfer of the existing Royal Mail network to a new Scottish
company, or the existing Royal Mail network in Scotland could be transferred to a
new Scottish Royal Mail.

What about the USO?
The current universal service would not automatically apply in an independent
Scotland. The form of the universal service would depend on the Scottish government
and whether Scotland was a member of the EU. Ofcom would have no regulatory
authority in an independent Scotland and so a new Scottish postal regulator would
also need to be set up. The USO may be more expensive to provide in an independent
Scotland as the country has a higher proportion of rural and hard-to-reach areas to
which it is costly to deliver.

EU membership
It remains unclear whether Scotland would be a member of the EU following
independence. Scotland may need to apply to join. Scottish Ministers have said
that an independent Scotland would remain part of the EU and they have received
legal advice to that effect; however, they have so far refused to publish such advice.

Both the UK Government and the EU Commission President believe an independent
Scotland would have to apply for membership of the EU. If an independent Scotland
was a member of the European Union then it would be bound by the EU Postal
Directives that require market liberalisation and competition and minimum universal
service standards (though these are weaker than those currently in UK law).

Cross-border post
Mail between the UK and Scotland could be classed as international post, and as such
would be subject to a system of terminal dues involving payments from one operator
to another based on a proportion of the cost of postage in the sender country. If this
happened it would likely be costly as Scotland is considered a net-importer of mail
as Royal Mail delivers three times as much mail in Scotland as is posted in Scotland.
However Scottish Ministers have indicated they would seek a cross-border mail
system between Scotland and the UK similar to that currently in place between the
Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, where there is a special cheaper rate.

Privatisation
Privatisation of Royal Mail is likely to have an adverse affect on postal services
in Scotland under both referendum outcomes. Although the current Scottish
Government has called on the UK Government to halt the privatisation of Royal Mail
until after the referendum and has committed to re-nationalising the company if
necessary, another political party may well be in charge in an independent Scotland.

The Labour Party has not committed to re-nationalising Royal Mail but has set out a
number of protections for the universal service and the Post Office network should
they win the UK general election in 2015.

What does Royal Mail think?
Royal Mail has stated it is waiting for the result of the referendum before seeking
clarity from legislators on postal services in an independent Scotland. Royal Mail
has not undertaken any specific planning for independence, nor has it held any
discussions on the matter with either UK or Scottish Ministers. However, the
prospectus for the company’s flotation on the stock exchange identifies the uncertain
impact of Scottish independence as a risk factor for the company.

Post Office network
The fi nancial position of the Post Office network in Scotland is precarious because of
the high proportion of rural branches, in which revenue tends to be low. The current
Scottish Government has not made clear their funding intentions for the Post Offi ce
network if Scotland decides to become independent.

The impact of Scottish independence on the post office network would depend
on whether responsibility for the network remained with Post Office Limited, or
transferred to a new company. Post Office Limited is currently entirely owned by the
Crown and it is not yet clear what arrangements would apply post-independence.

Unlike Royal Mail, the UK Government is not proposing to float Post Office Limited on
the stock exchange, but rather is looking to mutualise it. The cost of maintaining the
post office network would be a key consideration for government in an independent
Scotland. The post office network remains reliant on UK government subsidy.
Whoever took responsibility for post offices in an independent Scotland would need
to provide substantial subsidy to maintain the network at its current level.

CWU Scottish_Independence_briefing.pdf

[blackadder]

you on your own mate. i will of course supply the blue paint 2 paint the post boxes

[Danelectro]

Why in the midst of a dispute with Royal Mail do the CWU think its a good time to discuss the impact of independence on Scottish postal services. This should have been scheduled after the dust has settled on the dispute where comparisons could have been made with any new agreement.

The debate at each venue is supposed to have speakers for and against yet the above seems have been put together by the better together campaign.One thing that cant be denied is that a Scottish Government would be more 'trade union friendly' than a UK government.Its in our DNA!

[Godric]

it is all London based bullshit ..... the CWU (Scotland) backs independence and the bulk of the network is already in place in Scotland all that would happen would be that it would be rebranded and it wouldn't be tied to agreements created by Westminster ie competition and I would expect their to be 1single courier that handles Letters and Parcels because many couriers do not deliver further than Dundee in otherwords they wouldn't be allowed to cherry pick ... another thing does the CWU London think we are going to put barb wire and machine gun posts at the border .... their is no issues with sending mail via the Republic to Ulster and vice versa and why would it be any different from Scotland and the rest of the UK .... curious why would Scotland need a mail regulator for 1 postal service ?? and the Snp has guaranteed the USO

how about the precarious situation Royal Mail finds itself in if Scotland votes no ..... Royal Mail want to lose 40,000 staff over 5 years to me that looks like Royal mail heading for a 5 or 4 day week and with Tnt rolling out deliveries UK wide over the same period ... looking to employ 20,000 over the same period ..... I think Independence is the safest choice for Scottish Postmen


ps WTF has Scottish Independence got to do with the CWU in London it does not concern them they should butt out and mind their own f*cking business

[Tman]

But it's all one CWU and currently all one country. If the "CWU London" should mind "it's own f*cking business" when considering members' interests perhaps the concept of unity is lost on some.
Incidentally the machine gun posts and barbed wire are going on the English side of the border. Four hundred years of whining tartan Jockiness coming to an end.....

[Godric]

But it's all one CWU and currently all one country. If the "CWU London" should mind "it's own f*cking business" when considering members' interests perhaps the concept of unity is lost on some.
Incidentally the machine gun posts and barbed wire are going on the English side of the border. Four hundred years of whining tartan Jockiness coming to an end.....

The CWU backs Scottish Independence so CWU London should not be getting involved and unity ... their hasn't been unity in these islands since ww2 .... since then we have been steadily diverging ... is it not better to have a good neighbour than a disgruntled partner ??

[fishtank]

Four hundred years of whining tartan Jockiness coming to an end.....

Again Tman?
Lie down on the therapist couch and tell Fishy all about what those big bad sweaty socks did to you when you was a boy..

[mailman71]

But it's all one CWU and currently all one country. If the "CWU London" should mind "it's own f*cking business" when considering members' interests perhaps the concept of unity is lost on some.
Incidentally the machine gun posts and barbed wire are going on the English side of the border. Four hundred years of whining tartan Jockiness coming to an end.....

The CWU backs Scottish Independence so CWU London should not be getting involved and unity ... their hasn't been unity in these islands since ww2 .... since then we have been steadily diverging ... is it not better to have a good neighbour than a disgruntled partner ??

This is one of many scottish posiies who won't be voting for independence in fact in our fairly large office most are against it.

[j.post]

How dare a London based union try and tell us how to vote on OUR INDEPENDENCE. We can manage our own affairs and our own mail deliveries. You lot down there should get a grip and mind your own business. Get your own house in order before you comment on ours.

[fishtank]

While I think it's a bit biased towards the Labour position on independence which is understandable given affiliation I certainly didn't read it as a London vs Scotland thing.

[Darren Bent]

I think Royal Mail will hope it happens so they can cut cost and don't worry about small remote village and islands. Then they can charge more for "International Post" to Scotland.

But who knows what are in Royal Mail's plans.

[speckledtangerine]

But it's all one CWU and currently all one country. If the "CWU London" should mind "it's own f*cking business" when considering members' interests perhaps the concept of unity is lost on some.
Incidentally the machine gun posts and barbed wire are going on the English side of the border. Four hundred years of whining tartan Jockiness coming to an end.....

The CWU backs Scottish Independence so CWU London should not be getting involved and unity ... their hasn't been unity in these islands since ww2 .... since then we have been steadily diverging ... is it not better to have a good neighbour than a disgruntled partner ??

This is one of many scottish posiies who won't be voting for independence in fact in our fairly large office most are against it.

I'd recommend you have a wee look at a couple of websites, such as 'wings over scotland' and 'newsnet scotland'.

If your office are relying on stuff like the Daily Record for news, then you're being taken for mugs.

[simply_the_best]

this one of many scottish posiies who won't be voting for independence in fact in our fairly large office most are against it.

I'm another and most of my fairly small office are against it, I very much doubt CWU Scotland are for it and wonder where the OP got his info from

[Danelectro]

I'm another and most of my fairly small office are against it, I very much doubt CWU Scotland are for it and wonder where the OP got his info from

hunbelievable

[Godric]

this one of many scottish posiies who won't be voting for independence in fact in our fairly large office most are against it.

I'm another and most of my fairly small office are against it, I very much doubt CWU Scotland are for it and wonder where the OP got his info from

Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and I think Aberdeen came out and supported the yes Campaign .... I ask yourself this what will the repercussion be of a no vote ... the NHS in England is being privatised via the backdoor, we have no control over fiscal policy all economic policy is based on the needs of the south east of England, powers will be removed from Holyrood ... see those A&Es Labour wanted to close ... they will close this time and when this so called referendum on the EU is held be it 2017 0r 2014 ... Scotland will not decide the outcome ... England will and we will have to face the consequences either way and you will be retiring at the same age as some postie in the south east who has a longer lifespan than yourself .... obviously the union is not working for Scotland if we are dying at a much younger age than the rest of the UK ... and the Economic argument ... the UK is going to have a deficit of £120 billion this year and borrow a further £30 billion ... since the recession in 2007 Scotland has had 1 year that it had a deficit ... last year and that was for £2 billion .... now Scotland's economic figures do not include the revenue from oil, gas and whisky thus if you add the figures for those 3 .... Scotland had a surplus yet again .... what is also not included in those figures is that the Government makes tens of billions in leases from oil companies to extract the Oil and Gas ..... Cameron even eluded to this that Scotland as a independent country would be prosperus .... their is only two regions of the UK that has a surplus economy wise is the South East of England and Scotland yet we are not seeing any benefit from it we (8.4%) pay 9.9% of the UK's taxes..... the rest is failing due to Westminster's fixation of Economic policy based on the South East of England .... in short the UK is broken and it can't be fixed and voting NO is akin to staying onboard the Titanic especially when off the west coast of Scotland the oil and gas reserves dwarf the oil and gas reserves the north sea ever had from a geological survey done in the mid 1990s the same geological survey that stated England had a vast amount of shale oil and gas.


what was David Cameron's comment about saving the UK in his speech last week the benefits of the union was Afghanistan and Iraq .... that tells you everything about their only argument FOR the Union