Warning of mail sale jobs threat

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.bexleytimes.co.uk/content/be ... 3A06%3A160

A FURIOUS postman has branded plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail as a "disgrace" to workers and customers.

Business secretary Peter Mandelson announced this month that up to 30 per cent of the firm should be sold to a foreign company, to safeguard its future.

The publication of an independent review also calls for the modernisation of the firm, which faces an £8billion pension deficit.

Despite receiving a poor reception from the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the report, read out in the House of Lords on December 16, advises the government to take over the firm's £22billion pension fund.

It is claimed the move would make the postal service more attractive to potential buyer Dutch postal operator TNT.

The postman, who delivers mail in Bexley and wishes to remain anonymous, said: "It's an absolute disgrace. None of us even knows what's going to happen. We don't know if our jobs are secure.

"Royal Mail has always been state owned. I am quite saddened by it. They are a good company. This isn't the answer. It is an ill-thought-through, quick-fix solution."

He added: "It is quite heartbreaking. I know a lot of the people I deliver to and they all feel the same.

"This is going to upset an awful lot of people."

Richard Hopper, former deputy chairman of Ofcom, commissioned the review in December last year.

The report recommended a link between Royal Mail and a private sector partner. It said Royal Mail's pension deficit must be tackled and that Ofcom should be appointed to regulate the postal services market.

Mr Hopper said: "The company needs radical reform. It has a plan to achieve this.

"But in a declining market, we now face a stark choice: to modernise more quickly, or decline. The world of communications, and the needs of consumers, are changing fast. So too must postal services."

In the address to the House of Lords, Lord Mandelson said: "Bringing in a partner through a minority stake in the Royal Mail's postal business will bring the Royal Mail fresh investment, and new opportunities to grow in Europe and internationally and to offer new services."