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Royal Mail Could Be Sold For Knock-Down Price
21 April 2009 - David Lynch - © Hellmail Postal News
The Communication Workers Union has accused the UK government of getting it's sums wrong over the partial privatisation of Royal Mail and that 30% of the state-owned postal service would cost the treasury £900m.
The comment by CWU general secretary Billy Hayes, follows research by Compass which warns that the sale of Royal Mail could raise only a £1bn, almost half of what it might have done a year ago. This is partly due to the recession, partly due to stifled lending, and more significantly, a shrinkage of stamped mail volume.
Lord Peter Mandelson, who is presently pushing through the Postal Services Bill which includes the part-privatisation of Royal Mail, recently admitted that finding a minority shareholder is proving difficult. The CWU is concerned that up to 30% of Royal Mail could be sold at well below it's actual value:
“Compass have clearly shown the sums don’t add up when it comes to selling off Royal Mail. Royal Mail is an asset to this government and this country and must remain in full public ownership.
“A controversial sell-off would be both politically and financially damaging. What we need is a modernised, wholly publicly owned Royal Mail which can continue to deliver the first class service we all rely on.” said CWU general secretary Billy Hayes.
Lord Mandelson, acting on a report by Richard Hooper, maintains that Royal Mail can only be modernised with additional investment and expertise from another operator with a proven track record in turning around a struggling postal service but that investment could now fall short of initial expectations due to a severe global crisis.
German operator Deutsche Post has indicated that it sees no 'strategic advantage' in purchasing part of Royal Mail. To date, Dutch operator TNT Post has been the frontrunner although it is unclear how advanced negotiations are between TNT and the government or the scale of any bid.
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See Also >>
- Royal Mail To Keep VAT Advantage As TNT Case Thrown Out (23 April 2009)
- UK - Royal Mail Imposes Wage Freeze Due To Downturn (24 April 2009)
- Whatever Happened To Postwatch (28 April 2009)
- Postal Union Accuses UK Government Of Wasting Money (29 April 2009)
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