CWU calls on the Government to end speculation on privatisation of Royal Mail
The Communication Workers Union today welcomed the publication of the DTI select committee report on Royal Mail and called on the government to finally bury management proposals for employee share schemes.
The report criticised the management for demanding that the share ownership proposals are a condition of government funding. The CWU today said the share proposals were irrelevant to the real issues facing the company and the government funding was welcome and crucial to the future success of the company. It is not dependant on any particular management plan and the Union applauded the MP’s for highlighting the fact.
Billy Hayes, CWU General Secretary, said “the proposed share scheme has constantly been an obstacle to genuine discussion on improving company performance and securing a long-term quality public service. The sooner the government announce this plan is buried, the sooner we can all concentrate on both improving company performance and developing effective reward for the workforce”.
He added “the report mirrors the Unions view that employee shares do not motivate the workforce and puts at risk the public ownership of this vital public service. The plan does not have the support of parliament, the workforce or the public and is a clear breach of the governments manifesto commitments to retain full public ownership”.
The MP’s report says Royal Mail’s proposals “lacked robust evidence and were little better than mere assertions”. The report goes on to say that “there are far more straightforward ways to improve motivation.”
The report also questions the termination of the Post Office Card account, planned for 2010 – a move CWU has campaigned against. The reduction in income from these accounts adversely affects the viability of the network and will drive further closures. “Failure to re-instate these accounts will lead to a further run down of the network and a reduction in the service to our communities” said Billy.
The report says that the Post Office network is not just a commercial entity but “fulfils a wider community need”. “In many places Post Office branches serve as the heart of the community” says the report.
“There is a desperate need to save both the urban and rural networks” said Billy. “Post offices need to be the gateway for government services and more products need to be developed to assist in protecting the long term viability of the social network” he added. The report criticises both the “lack of joined up thinking between govt departments” on this subject and the “apparent lack of urgency” given by the Cabinet sub-committee who were examining the future of the Post Office network. It was the DWP that removed the card account and the TV licence and DVLA licensing, whilst the DTI uses taxpayers money to keep the network going.
