Campaigning against the privatisation of the Royal Mail with Bill Hayes, General Secretary of the CWU
Nia Griffith MP has spoken up against the privatisation of the Royal Mail at a rally organised by the Communication Workers Union in parliament this week.
Back in 2010, Nia led Labour’s opposition to the Tory-LibDem coalition government’s bill which paved the way for the privatisation of the Royal Mail. Now the government is pushing ahead with trying to sell off the Royal Mail, with talk that it could even be sold to a foreign company.
Speaking at the rally, Nia said
“ We have an excellent, efficient postal service – the envy of many other advanced nations, and the fact that the UK is a world leader in internet shopping is a mark of the trust that the public have in the Royal Mail. Everyone knows that privatisation will lead to profiteering at the expense of domestic customers, small business customers and workers. We will see stamp prices rocket, delivery services cut back, especially in rural areas, and workers’ pay and conditions slashed. Postal workers have already embraced change, and have now turned the company round, increasing profits from £152m in 2012 to £403m in 2013. The Royal Mail is a real asset to the country; it makes no sense whatsoever to privatise it, and the public know that. Even Thatcher thought it was a step too far. We need to get the government to stop and listen before it is too late, and the service as we know it is dismantled. I will certainly be campaigning vigorously to stop the privatisation of the Royal Mail.”