EC Agenda for
Further Privatisation of Post Office Must Be Opposed
The European Commission is making new arrangements
to break up the national postal services. In proposals in a draft directive put
forward on May 30, all EU member states would be compelled to open to
competition all postal services on mail over 50 grams at the beginning of 2003,
compared with the current limit of 350 grams. In addition, all outgoing post to
other EU countries and express mail would be subject to competition. The point
of the proposals is to "reform" the postal systems of Europe, to
"deregulate" them, in order to follow the dictates of the
marketplace, and create the conditions for the postal systems to further
compete in the global market, as well as paving the way for a Europe-wide
postal system, again in the interests of success in the global marketplace and
the pursuit of maximum capitalist profit.
These proposals are entirely in line with the Postal
Services Bill at present in Committee in the House of Lords prior to receiving
its third reading and becoming law. The previous Conservative government made
several attempts to come up with proposals to sell off the postal service and
the present Labour government is still active in formulating new arrangements
for the postal services. New Labour want to increase the profitability of the
Post Office and in so doing increase payments to the rich. The global market is
being made the target. This is estimated to be worth £20 billion a year
for letters and packages, rising to £57 billion by 2010. This is not to
speak of the vast markets in the delivery of goods such as clothes and
groceries over which the monopolies are now licking their lips.
The announcement by Brussels of the new proposals, coupled
with the Postal Services Bill, comes at a time when rural post offices are
under threat of closing with many people, including pensioners in particular,
being affected. The new arrangements will escalate the danger in rural areas,
and raises the real possibility that what is known as the universal-service
obligation will be abandoned. In other words, following the example of the
banks, isolated or rural areas would become subject to market forces, and
postal services to and from them would be more expensive or take longer or
both. The Post Office has said of the EU proposals, "That will ultimately
make it impossible to continue with the bedrock principle of an affordable and
uniform postal service available to every customer, no matter how remote their
address, and irrespective of what distance their domestic mail travels."
Post Office Unions have also warned that the proposals will
cost 50,000 of the Royal Mail's 160,000 jobs. General Secretary of the
Communication Workers Union, Derek Hodgson, said that the union is
"gathering allies to ensure vigorous opposition" to the proposals
across Europe.
The postal service itself has said that the new
arrangements would "inevitably" lead to higher prices for the posting
letters and would "dramatically" hit investment in new technology.
The Chief Executive, John Roberts is not showing that he is altogether opposed
to the plans for deregulation. He has only said that the proposals are going
"too far, too quickly".
Workers see the issue, not only of endangering jobs but
also affecting the service to ordinary people. It is a question of rights: the
service should be fully funded as an important pro-social programme. The issue
is not simply that the privatisation and profit-motive of the postal service be
kept to reasonable levels, and jobs safeguarded. The fundamental issue is that
there are in contention here two diametrically opposed visions of society, what
should be its motive force and direction.
Only by opposing the new arrangements and putting forward
their own alternative programme for a modern communications and postal system
as part of the working people taking up the path of Stop Paying the Rich
and Increase Investment in Social Programmes can the issue of properly
organised and funded post offices begin to be tackled. The perspective in
waging this struggle is that a modern system which serves the peoples
needs and is not geared to capitalist competition and profitability will be
guaranteed when the assets of the nation are under the control of the working
class and the people are empowered to decide on the direction of the economy.