Government must address Royal Mail pensions' deficit
3rd July 2009
Unite the union has welcomed the decision not to part-privatise
Royal Mail, but warns that the government must now address the
pensions' deficit.
The union is concerned that Lord Mandelson has left Royal Mail
and its staff in a state of uncertainty as he has not explained how
the government, as shareholder, is going to address the immediate
problems of the pensions' deficit, regulation and future
investment.
In a letter to the union's 11,000 members, who are managers at
Royal Mail, national officer, Paul Reuter said: "The big issue of
part-privatisation has been resolved, for the time being, but there
are still many issues to deal with.
“The biggest single issue that has prevented Royal Mail from
investing in the future is the pensions' deficit. The deficit needs
to be addressed urgently. We anticipate that the pensions' trustees
will revise their estimate of the shortfall from the current figure
of £3.3 billion to £10 billion and this in turn would require Royal
Mail to more than double its annual payments.
"We call upon the government to spell out in clear and
precise terms what actions it is going to take to plug the
pensions' deficit and protect the business.”
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
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