Letter to Kwasi Kwarteng

[smok3y666]

An important update for all Royal Mail Group members.
Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET
Minister.kwarteng@beis.qov.uk
Dear Kwasi
I am writing today to highlight the urgent issue of talks between Royal Mail and VESA Equity about a potential takeover of Royal Mail Group.
As the union that represents over 115,000 postal workers across every corner of Britain, we are extremely alarmed by these secret discussions with a Luxembourg-based private equity firm, controlled by billionaire Daniel Křetínský’.
,
We welcome your acknowledgement of these discussions between VESA Equity and the leadership of Royal Mail Group and we welcome the decision to investigate these talks with urgency.
We now believe that secret talks have been going on behind the backs of the workforce and the public for some time and that this explains the reason why the Royal Mail Group walked away from all our agreements on change and have deliberately manufactured the disputes that are currently taking place, to facilitate a predetermined outcome, that being the takeover of the Royal Mail Group by VESA.
It is the view of the CWU that what has taken place has a strong possibility of involving corporate corruption. Therefore, we are particularly keen to understand when and on what basis the company contacted you or your department.
The CWU wrote to the company on the 24th August raising our concerns and it cannot be a coincidence that less than 48 hours later the government and Royal Mail issued statements to the City of London confirming an investigation is taking place.
Not only do these secret talks represent the dismantling of Royal Mail’s 500-year-old service, but they also present a serious threat to the conditions faced by workers in Royal Mail and a degradation of the services available to the public.
Our members have already taken the brave decision to take strike action against the insulting pay rise imposed on them and have also returned a 98.7% yes vote for strike action against the abandonment of union-agreed changes.
In response, the leadership of the company has already threatened the break-up of Royal Mail and the sell-off of the international arm of the company, GLS, or as an alternative, to use GLS as the parcel delivery arm of Royal Mail in the UK, threatening thousands upon thousands of jobs.
We also believe that these talks include a plan to undermine and ultimately abandon the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which the company sees as a hindrance, rather than an advantage and a key benefit to the consumer. These changes represent nothing more than a “levelling down” agenda for the company with the ambition being to maximise profit by turning Royal Mail into just another gig economy employer. On the question of the USO, we would also like you to clarify if there have been any approaches by the company to you or your department regarding changes to USO service standards and/or regulatory issues.
Given what is at stake in these discussions, we are very concerned about the undue influence of a billionaire-controlled equity firm on the existing leadership of Royal Mail Group.
The CWU is unequivocal in our stance against this potential takeover - it is against the interests of the workers and the public. We urge you to confirm that you will take every step necessary to ensure that shareholders are not unduly or duplicitously influenced by VESA Equity, or by the senior leadership of Royal Mail, as part of your review into the ongoing discussions.
Surely, it cannot be right if members of the existing Board, including the Chair Keith Williams and CEO Simon Thompson, are allowed to put forward their view on the takeover, if they or other Board members, as appears likely, have already been engaged in secret discussions to facilitate this.
We would also like you to investigate whether these talks amount to insider trading and whether Board members have received or are due to receive additional benefits if the takeover goes ahead. We make this point because of information circulating from the UK markets, where it appears that the two CEO’s (RMG and GLS) and the Chief Operating Officer, have just received additional shares worth close to a £1 million each.
Given the nature of your investigation we are also asking for an explanation of how and when this will be conducted and whether the union will have the opportunity to give evidence to it.
Due to the urgency and importance of all of the issues outlined above, I am requesting that we meet as soon as possible to elaborate on our concerns and hopefully receive the assurances from you that the workforce and the public deserve.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward

[1617mel]

It stinks to high heaven of corruption on a a high level, the government will surely step in to investigate this . The share allocation to high executives , almost cements dave wards allegations. If they get away with it RM is finished as ee know it.

[POSTMAN]

LTB 354/22 - RMG DISPUTE - A LETTER SENT TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE ON THE POTENTIAL TAKEOVER OF ROYAL MAIL GROUP