Royal Mail staff are expected to vote heavily this week for strike action over pay and workingconditions in the ‘peak season’ run-up to Christmas despite having profited from free shares in the
company’s privatisation.The Communications Workers Union (CWU) will announce on Wednesday (October 16) the result ofa strike ballot of some 115,000 members at the company and is threatening industrial action fromOctober 23 onwards. The union has rejected a three-year phased 8.6 per cent pay rise offer.
Virtually all 150,000 Royal Mail employees took up the offer of free shares in the company’sprivatisation. They are obliged to keep them for three years.
But CWU general secretary Billy Hayes denied the free shares would influence how workerswould vote. “Shares will make no scintilla of difference to postal workers who are far moreconcerned about their jobs. We expect our members will vote to protect their terms and conditionsin our strike ballot next week,” he said on Friday.
Speaking at a union protest outside the London Stock Exchange, he added: “It’s more importantthan ever to get protections for jobs security and terms and conditions under privatisation. CWUwon’t stand idly by; whoever owns the company will have to deal with us and the workforce.”
The CWU claimed that the Royal Mail privatisation, which has so far raised about £1.7 billionfor the government and generated quick profits as shares soared more than a third during Friday’sfirst day of institutional trading, was “all about greed”.
“The massive jump in the share price confirms that the government and its expensive cityadvisors got the pricing structure wrong and have undervalued this treasured national institution.The taxpayer has lost out immediately and we all now face an uncertain future for our postalservices which will be run for profit instead of public service,” Hayes declared.
Meanwhile, the Royal Mail share price continued rising today (Monday) after its 38 per centsurge from 330 pence to 455 pence on Friday. The share rose sharply to 475 pence during earlytrading and was at 464.50 pence by early afternoon, a 2.1 per cent rise on Friday’s closing price.The company is thus now valued at about £4.6 billion compared to the £3.3 billion fixed by thegovernment.
The Royal Mail share will be fully launched on the London Stock Exchange tomorrow (Tuesday)when private investors will also be able to start buying and selling shares.
