UK Royal Mail staff set to receive 20 pct stake

Royal mail’s 200,000 employees are expected to be given a 20 pct stake in the business in a move that will spark union fears that the organisation is being prepared for privatisation, The Times reported, citing union sources.

The issue is likely to provoke a major clash between unions and the Government at this week’s Labour Party conference, the newspaper said.

A government-commissioned review of Royal Mail, headed by Sir George Bain, is expected to recommend employee ownership when it reports next month, added The Times.

Each employee stands to receive shares worth about 5,000 stg if the organisation is valued at 5 bln stg a figure that Allan Leighton, Royal Mail’s chairman, has often quoted, said The Times.