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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mail report 'to suggest sell-off' | Mail report 'to suggest sell-off' |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A report into the future of the Royal Mail due out later is expected to call for the service to be part-privatised. | A report into the future of the Royal Mail due out later is expected to call for the service to be part-privatised. |
| The study by former media watchdog boss Richard Hooper was commissioned by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). | |
| A BERR spokeswoman has declined to comment on whether it would back any partial sell-off recommendation. | A BERR spokeswoman has declined to comment on whether it would back any partial sell-off recommendation. |
| The spokeswoman said no comment would be made by the department until the report was released. | The spokeswoman said no comment would be made by the department until the report was released. |
| The study by Mr Hooper, a former deputy chairman of Ofcom, is also expected to show a big rise in the Royal Mail's pension fund deficit. | The study by Mr Hooper, a former deputy chairman of Ofcom, is also expected to show a big rise in the Royal Mail's pension fund deficit. |
| This may now total as much as £7bn. | This may now total as much as £7bn. |
| Strike action | Strike action |
| The report is further expected to recommend modernisation for the service, with potential job losses as a result. | The report is further expected to recommend modernisation for the service, with potential job losses as a result. |
| The government has committed itself to maintaining the "universal service" - daily deliveries to every UK home, and collections from all postboxes. | The government has committed itself to maintaining the "universal service" - daily deliveries to every UK home, and collections from all postboxes. |
| Meanwhile, up to 2,000 postal workers are to stage a 24-hour strike later this week in a row over office closures. | Meanwhile, up to 2,000 postal workers are to stage a 24-hour strike later this week in a row over office closures. |
| The Communication Workers Union said its members in Liverpool, Coventry, Stockport, Oldham, Oxford, Crewe and Bolton would walk out on 19 December - the day before the last Christmas posting day for first-class letters. | The Communication Workers Union said its members in Liverpool, Coventry, Stockport, Oldham, Oxford, Crewe and Bolton would walk out on 19 December - the day before the last Christmas posting day for first-class letters. |