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by Conrad Landin and Ben Chacko, in Brighton
MINISTERS should legislate to protect daily postal deliveries, TUC Congress affirmed yesterday.
Delegates called for the public sector and workers to retain a stake in the Royal Mail in the face of the continued threat of private postal operators “cherry-picking” profitable delivery rounds.
They condemned the privatisation of the post and highlighted the failure of communications regulator Ofcom to create a level playing field.
And they argued that the insolvency of City Link and the collapse of Whistl (formerly TNT) “underlines the failure of the current regulatory framework.”
A motion from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) called for an overhall of regulation and new laws to protect the daily delivery.
CWU deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger said: “It’s something special — the commitment that whether you are in a city or in the remotest corner of Britain a postie will deliver to you, six days a week, at a uniform price.
“The sale of Royal Mail put that under threat. Now it increasingly competes against private delivery firms and operates for private profit although it retains a public service obligation written into statute.”
“We believe in natural monopolies where competition is not appropriate. Royal Mail was one of them.”
A rally to launch the People’s Post campaign in July resulted in an impromptu occupation of Parliament Square by union members.
