Royal Mail and La Poste Privatisation Plans
Both the UK and France are looking at the possibility of part-privatisation of their state-owned postal services although postal unions and some MPs are likely to resist any attempts to privatise, in part or in whole.
In the UK, there is growing concern that the funding of the universal service is being undermined by what some see as an over-zealous drive to introduce competition into the market. The CWU (communication workers union), which repesents the majority of postal workers at Royal Mail, has already hinted at the possible withdrawal of it’s contribution to Labour Party funds if the present government continues to back what it describes as a ‘slash and burn’ policy on postal reform. The union’s present view is that Royal Mail is being run down as an excuse to privatise it.
The European Commission has taken a rather ‘loose’ approach to deciding how the USO could be maintained in a deregulated European postal market by saying that it was up to individual countries to decide how it should be funded. Some argue that in a somewhat grand plan to liberalise postal services quickly, it has effectively ‘passed the buck’ on the USO. Last year saw demonstrations in Berlin from unions concerned about the USO and the impact on jobs.
Neither the UK or France has made any firm committment to privatisation yet, but the idea is likely to find favour with both governments as a way to ease problems in a more competitive market. Directors at France’s La Poste, are said to be keen on the idea of an IPO that would involve 20 percent of the company’s total capital, said to be worth around 10 billion euros.
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