Rallies oppose Royal Mail plans

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Postal workers have continued a series of rallies around the UK to express their opposition to the government's proposal to sell a stake in Royal Mail.

The government says that Royal Mail needs outside investment to survive.

But union leaders speaking in Newcastle said that the plans were not the only way to make the business profitable.

The legislation providing for the sale of around 30% of the postal service will be debated in the House of Lords on Monday.

Speakers at the 'Keep the Post Public' rally in Newcastle argued that part-privatisation was not the only option open to the government.

TUC regional secretary Kevin Rowan said: "The Communication Workers Union, and workers in the industry, are very committed to making it a successful enterprise, that returns a surplus into the government.

"But it's been starved of resources to invest, and the government is suggesting that the only way that we can get that investment is in the private sector.

"We're saying that actually there's a responsibility for the government to fund investment in the Post Office. The public certainly want that, and that'll turn it round into a good profitable organisation."

The Communication Workers Union, which is organising the rallies alongside the left-wing campaign group, Compass, says the government's plan would effectively "nationalise the pension fund and privatise the profit".

Further events are planned for Bristol, Nottingham, Southampton, and Glasgow.

Ministers have rejected a suggestion from Compass to turn the Royal Mail into a not-for-profit company like Network Rail, insisting that the plan to sell off a stake remained the best option.

The government argues that Royal Mail's multi-billion pound pension deficit and the increasing popularity of e-mail means it cannot survive in its current form and needs outside investment.

But ministers have failed to convince many in their own party with 148 Labour MPs opposing part-privatisation.

This raises the prospect of the government having to rely on the Conservative Party to get the legislation through in the Commons, where a vote may happen next month.