26 August 2009 by John Cawse - © Hellmail.co.uk

With the government cutting and pasting an earlier response into the webpage of the now-closed petition to save Royal Mail as a public service, comes the acceptance of TOTAL defeat.

The government has not the courage to challenge EU directives which contradict a national majority-opinion and desire, nor the nous to run an institution, of some 374 years standing, along successful lines (if one believes what we are told), nor the ability to recognise that since no-one wants to buy into Royal Mail, no-one wants to buy into Royal Mail.

We're going to wait until conditions change, says Mr. Brown.

Well, there's a positive, "pro-"active, take-the-lead and deal with the problem example for the rest of us to get inspired by....not.

So, Mr. Brown. How long? How long, Lord Mandelson?

I fear that the Tories, if they wrestle power away from Labour in the coming election, will do what this , er, lot, shower, mob, er, I'm a bit stuck for the appropriate word, has not. If however, there is no buyer, who are they going to sell it to? And how long will they wait to find one? How long, Mr. Cameron? How long?

Meanwhile, RM continues to hobble along, hamstrung, with one hand tied behind its back and the other in a mitten.

And pressure is mounting on it to keep its head above water with the tide still coming in. It is not free to conduct its business- it is still subsidising the "competition" (that "noun" would be hilarious in other circumstances), and one of the few methods available for it to generate money is to save costs. It has no room to maneouvre, to introduce new products, new services, change its price-structure, or improve standards.

So we continue to witness a fall in standards, more erratic and less predictable delivery times, fewer collections, fewer delivery attempts, lesser customer-service. We continue to see unresonable expectations and burden put upon the employees, already made much the poorer with the removal of much earnings-potential, the removal of the final-salary pension scheme, more bullying, harrassment, intimidation, and fear.

We continue to see job-losses, job-cuts, under-staffing, mismanagement, and the resulting threats to health and safety.

We continue to hear from SMEs, our largest wealth-generator, they are upset and feel threatened because our service to them can not be assured from day to the next. They wonder what time the post will arrive, indeed whether it will, and if the cheques they are expecting will arrive in time to be cashed in time.

This whole farce, this unfunny farce, is continuing to undermine and destabilise the whole country, never mind the whole industry.

We have to face facts.

There is NO BUYER for Royal Mail. We simply MUST do what is right by the country. The time has arrived, and passed, where we have to acknowledge the experiment in mail-market deregulation has been an absolute calamity, and return RM to its historic place in our culture, and once more provide business and the wider public with the service we would all wish to see.

How long, Mr. Brown? How long?

© Hellmail.co.uk (26 August 2009)

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See Also >>

• CWU Says Negotiation Is Only Way To End Royal Mail Strike Action (19 August 2009)
  
• CWU Leader Writes To Cabinet Members To End Postal Strike (24 August 2009)
  
• CWU Describes Royal Mail As Chaos Management (26 August 2009)
  

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