Press releases

Royal Mail privatisation betrayal will unleash mass opposition

23rd February 2009

The Government will be unveiling a Bill on Thursday, 26th February to part-privatise Royal Mail. Tomorrow (24th Feb), hundreds of CWU members and community activists will be lobbying Parliament to oppose the privatisation of the Royal Mail.

John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair, who will be speaking at the CWU Rally in Westminster tomorrow, said:

“This flies in the face of the manifesto commitment and the agreements at Warwick.

“Privatisation will result in significant job losses and attacks on the working conditions of postal workers and we will fight these proposals all the way.

“Labour Party members and trade unionists are angry at what will be interpreted by postal workers as a complete betrayal. Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson should not underestimate the opposition that this will unleash among MPs, trade unions, postal workers and communities. This is a privatisation beyond what even Thatcher proposed.

“Labour MPs will be astonished that the Government has chosen to rush through this legislation without consultation and in breach of the manifesto on which they were elected.”

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