News

Taxpayers in the United Kingdom "missed out on significant value" on the privatisation of Royal Mail, a new report from the Business, Innovation and Skills committee has found. The committee found that the Vince Cable, the business secretary, rushed the sale through and that British taxpayers lost out on an "adequate and appropriate return."   The BIS report follows an investigation by the UK National Audit Office earlier this year that also pointed to Government incompetence leading up to the sale of the British postal system in October 2013.

Billy Hayes, General Secretary of UNI affiliate the Communication Workers Union said, "The BIS select committee's damning report published today shows the extent of the government's incompetence in the privatisation of Royal Mail." CWU also noted that the BIS report showed many potential investors were willing to buy shares at higher price than originally offered. 

The privatisation of Royal Mail came after the CWU had defeated many previous government attempts in the past decade to sell off the British post office. Since it was floated in October 2013, other European governments have advanced plans to privatise their post, most notably in Portugal, where the government sold 70% of the post earlier this year. Italy and Greece have begun processes to sell off their postal services as well. 

More on the latest BIS findings can be found on the CWU's site or in a report by the Guardian.