ROYAL MAIL SALE: IT’S NOT OVER, WARNS UNION LEADER
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The General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union has said the government should be stepping in and making demands about the future of Royal Mail.
Dave Ward said it was wrong that the board members could potentially make a lot of money out of the sale of Royal Mail to a foreign investor, which he said was a ‘company of national interest’.
Speaking on GB News Dave Ward said:
“The government can still step in, and they can make the demands that they should be making about the future of Royal Mail. The Labour Party has a role in it as well, because of the current election, so it’s not over.
“And can I say what’s really worrying about the developments today is that we’re in a situation now where it appears that a board that has completely mismanaged Royal Mail are having an internal debate with a prospective new owner. They’re all going to make probably a million quid out of it. We think the current chairman will make a million pounds out of this.
“They run the company into the ground and surely this should be a debate of national interest. So, we’re not seeing it over and done with. We do have to protect the interest of our members, and we will be in there talking to the prospective buyer.
“But I just think the whole thing is a shame, really, in terms of how we got to this point: the failure of privatisation. And the only people who really care about the future postal services are the workforce.
“So we’ve got to do anything we can to ensure that UK services continue, and that the workforce get a decent deal out of this. And that’s where we’re going to be talking to the owners, and we’re also going to be talking to the government and the Labour Party.
“It’s not about having concerns about Daniel Kretinsky. It’s a legitimate point that the whole of the country should be concerned that Royal Mail is about to be sold in its entirety to an equity investor from abroad that we don’t really understand what their plans are.
“Now, you know, when it comes to what the current board have done, they failed their own customers, they failed the workforce. So we’re certainly not supporting their position.
“But we want to see a new model of ownership. We want to see a stake in the future for employees, and that’s the type of discussion that we need to have with Mr Kretinsky and may have agreed to meet us next week.
“They’ve had a 27% stake in the company, and I’m not really aware of what other knowledge he’s got, so let’s wait and see what’s said next week.
“But I think the important point is that this isn’t the done deal. The government, if they’ve got major concerns, they can intervene.
“It’d be good if they actually answered the correspondence we’ve sent them, where we’re asking to sit down with them and talk about our concerns, what they should be concerned about and similar with the Labour Party.
“Because where, where this is so wrong is how can you have people who are going to make a load of money out of selling Royal Mail discussing a deal with a Czech billionaire, and the government ain’t saying anything about it?
“It’s a company of national interest and we should be having a wider discussion about their future plans. Are they going to invest in the workforce? Are they going to invest in services, or are they going to asset strip? It’s a huge moment for all.
“I think it’s a it’s an issue of whether or not the National Security Act gets enforced, and our view is, unless there’s absolute guarantees that stick, not guarantees for a couple of years, and then a businessman can do what he wants with a company, then, [Labour] shouldn’t be standing on the side. They should be ready to intervene as well.
“But that will be a matter for whether or not wins the election. I don’t think this is going to take place this side of the general election, so it’s important we start talking about it as an issue.”
