Postal
UK: unions battle postal privatisation
(9 March, 2009): Proposals to privatise the UK postal service, Royal Mail, have sparked a major conflict between UK unions and Gordon Brown’s Labour Government. They are also threatening to split the Labour Party itself.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), the major union representing postal workers, has threatened to disaffiliate from the Labour Party if the proposed privatisation goes ahead and over 130 Labour MPs have publicly signalled their opposition to the move.
The privatisation plan involves selling an initial 30% of the business, probably to Dutch-based logistics operator TNT. Legislation to allow the move was tabled in the UK Parliament last week.
The Government argues that Royal Mail needs a major injection of private equity if it is to modernise its network and to meet its pension fund commitments. The fund is currently running an Aus$20 billion deficit.
But the CWU has warned that privatisation will threaten universal service as well as ushering in job losses and likely attacks on working conditions.
And it says that Royal Mail’s financial needs could be better met through loosening the borrowing limits that are currently imposed on the company.
Indeed, at a time when the UK Government is in the process of nationalising large swathes of the banking sector it makes little sense for it to be selling off a profitable public enterprise that provides a crucial public service.
The CWU’s campaign has received wide support from other unions, from small business and from the community at large.
As veteran MP and former Postmaster General Tony Benn told CWU members at a recent anti-privatisation rally in London:
- "You've got 100 per cent support from the unions and the full backing of the public, who rely on the service you provide.”