Author: Archive

The government is set to rule out the privatisation of Royal Mail when it announces the terms of reference for a review of the postal business, the Sunday Telegraph reported. ‘He will make it clear that we are not privatising,’ a colleague of trade and industry secretary Alan Johnson reportedly told the paper. Royal Mail’s board continues to hope for permission for the transfer of 20 pct of the business into the hands of its employees – and possibly up to 49 pct, the paper added.

The Royal Mail is facing growing political opposition to its proposals to transfer its ownership from the state to its employees, only days before a government-commissioned review that will determine the postal operator’s future ownership. A parliamentary motion calling on ministers to ensure the Royal Mail remains publicly owned with “all shares continuing to be owned by the government” has been signed by 57 Labour MPs. This suggests Tony Blair, the prime minister, could struggle to get the parliamentary approval needed to part-privatise the postal operator by giving a 51 per cent stake to staff. The government has a majority of only 67 in the Commons and the Tories have said they are “sceptical” about the part-privatisation plan.

Royal Mail is attempting to pre-empt this week’s potentially damaging Channel 4 Dispatches programme, by claiming it is on course to beat its minimum delivery targets for the year. The documentary, Reopening the Post, shows various incompetent practices, such as agency staff being drafted in to sort mail and then told to deliver it without the aid of a map. Postwatch chairman Peter Carr also appears on the programme, accepting that progress is being made. He says: “Customers will be confused by the contrast between the good quality of service results published and the Dispatches revelations. Changing culture takes time.”