Greens stand alone against a privatised Royal Mail

4th March 2009

Green proposal gets no backing from Labour or Lib Dems

Yesterday Green Councillors called for support in the campaign against Government plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail. But Sheffield Council rejected their call, despite over a hundred MPs registering their objection to the plans.

Green Cllr Rob Murphy commented 'It a shame Sheffield's Labour Party cannot bring itself to stand by the Green Cllrs fighting to protect our postal service from the exploitation of private companies. These plans amount to the nationalisation of the pension risk and the privatisation of the profits'

He added 'At a time when people are beginning to question the theory that the market knows best, now is not the time to take more money out of our public postal service and put it into private pockets.'

The Green proposal follows:

That this council:

(e) notes the announcement on Wednesday 21st January 2009, that for
the first time in 20 years all four Royal Mail businesses (including
Post Office Ltd) are in profit, and that Full-year profits are
likely to be double the £162m recorded in 2007/8.

(f) notes plans by the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to sell up
to a 30% stake in the Royal Mail to a private firm, and believes
this will result in substantial job losses both in Sheffield and
nationally.

(g) notes the introduction of the Postal Services Bill to the House
of Lords on Wednesday, 25th February 2009.

(h) calls on the government to drop any plans to part-privatise the
Royal Mail.

(i) Calls on all Sheffield MP's to sign Early Day Motion 428 that
states:

"That this House notes that the Labour Party Conference 2008, with
the backing of ministers, supported 'a vision of a wholly
publicly-owned, integrated Royal Mail Group'; welcomes the
conclusion of the Hooper Report that the current universal service
obligation offered by Royal Mail, including six days a week
delivery, must be protected and that the primary duty of a new
regulator should be to maintain it; further welcomes the
recommendations in the report that the Government should take
responsibility for the pensions deficit which followed an extended
contributions holiday; endorses the call for a new relationship
between management and postal unions and welcomes the commitment of
the CWU to negotiate an agreement which would support the
modernisation of the industry; observes that in 2007 the Government
agreed to a £1.2 billion loan facility on commercial terms to
modernise Royal Mail operations; rejects the recommendation of the
Hooper Report to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail which would
risk fracturing one of Britain's greatest public services; notes the
Government is currently advertising for a new Chair of Royal Mail
and urges the Secretary of State to appoint a Chair and management
team who are committed to the principles of a modern public
enterprise."

(j) resolves to send a copy of this motion to all Sheffield Members
of Parliament and the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.