DTI 'failed to defend Mail'
DTI ‘failed to defend Mail’
FROM DAVID LISTER IN BRUSSELS
THE Government is refusing to defend the Post Office from an EU directive that could cost 50,000 British jobs and wipe out the Royal Mail’s profits.
It stood accused last night of reneging on an earlier commitment to resist a proposal to smash the Royal Mail’s monopoly on letters in the UK, after it emerged that British officials refused to stand up for the organisation at a meeting with other EU member states earlier this month.
The Communication Workers Union, which represents the majority of the Royal Mail’s 160,000 staff, yesterday issued a stern warning to the Government. Derek Hodgson, the general secretary, said: “There will be one hell of an argument if the Government is changing its opinion on this.”
The European Commission has proposed that, from 2003, the monopoly enjoyed by national post offices be cut to letters weighing up to 50 grammes.
Royal Mail, which has a monopoly on letters up to 350 grammes, has called for the reduction to be limited to up to 150 grammes. It has said that the directive could cost £300 million in lost profits, lead to a two-tier tariff system for ordinary letters, and cause thousands of job cuts.
However, at a meeting in Brussels on September 8, officials from the Department of Trade and Industry told their EU colleagues that they wanted to remain “neutral” on the directive.
They said Britain would not take a view until the Postal Services Commission, the new regulator, makes its own recommendations on liberalising the UK market next spring. That is in spite of clear indications that France is pushing for member states to agree on the directive by Christmas.
