- The privatization of Royal Mail is one of the biggest scandals in recent times
- The obvious and correct answer is to renationalise Royal Mail
- But a Tory or a Labor government is unwilling to think about this
It may seem highly unusual for a trade union leader like me to write a column for the Ny Breaking City pages, but these are unusual times.
I lead the Communication Workers Union, which represents 110,000 positions.
We’re fighting to save one of Britain’s most iconic companies.
Let me get straight to the point: the privatization of Royal Mail is one of the biggest scandals in recent times.
Hundreds of millions of pounds a year that once went to the Treasury now go into the pockets of mainly wealthy and often foreign shareholders.
Is the writing on the wall?: The CWU has developed a plan to restore the universal service obligation to deliver postal services to all addresses at the same price and to the same standard
The service, once the best in the world, is on its knees.
The Royal Mail Board has overseen the destruction of the service and a massive attack on its own staff. Every reader has felt the impact.
The actions of the Board of Directors have made Royal Mail ripe for a takeover and now, with an offer from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, we are on the brink of that.
The obvious and correct answer is to renationalise Royal Mail. But a Tory government and even a new Labor government are unwilling to think about this.
Therefore, the CWU has developed a plan to restore the universal service obligation to provide postal services to all addresses at the same price and to the same standard.
Our plan will regain public and business confidence in Britain and win over tens of thousands of postal workers who have been demoralized by the company’s management by giving them a major stake in their business.
We are calling for a new ownership and governance model for Royal Mail.
We want employees and customers to have serious influence and a real voice in the direction of the company. We will campaign for this politically, industrially and in our communities.
I often hear that we need to see more patriotism from our politicians.
This isn’t Nigel Farage parachuting himself into a community he’s never been to before, or Rishi Sunak flying planes to Rwanda when he can’t even oversee a train network that runs on time in Britain.
Patriotism takes the opportunity to create an alliance of the public, businesses and postal workers so that an important part of the country’s infrastructure can be saved and rebuilt.
Royal Mail has the largest fleet in Great Britain. There are workers in every community. Imagine what great business leaders of the past would have done with that competitive advantage.
It is said that the union is holding back modernization, but nothing could be further from the truth.
We are the ones who call for growth, demand investment and are ready for innovation.
It looks increasingly likely that Daniel Kretinsky will fully own Royal Mail by the end of the year. He says he wants to own the company for the rest of his life.
Then we need commitments for our members and customers that match that level of ambition.
In the coming weeks we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put this issue at the center of the election debate. We will push for that every day and we ask you as readers to do the same.
There’s nothing more British than the Royal Mail. And this could be our last chance to save it.
- Dave Ward is general secretary of the Communication Workers Union.