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Royal Mail: Industrial Dispute

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for his support, if support it was. We all agree that none of us would like to be in the place in which we find ourselves. As a Government we would like to have successfully taken through the Postal Services Bill. We remain of the view that Hooper got it absolutely right. In recent time, I have not read such a well analysed, well argued report of its kind with recommendations that were so obviously, patently correct for the future of the Royal Mail, which is precisely why we introduced the legislation in the first place. Had we done so, and were we successful in introducing a minority strategic partner from the private sector into the Royal Mail, I have no doubt that that would have introduced a new perspective to this company, which would be linked to the real world in which people have to work hard and flexibly for every customer and every job. That is what people have to do when they are running a business rather than a social service, and the Royal Mail is a business. It is not a social service. It operates in a market and faces competitors. The Postal Services Bill, if it had been enacted, would have helped to pave the way for a transformation of this business. But, of course, as the noble Lord knows, the state of the markets defeated us. In reading my Financial Times today, I notice that the Conservative opposition and their spokesmen are making it clear that they would not rush to introduce this legislation were they to be elected. I gather from that newspaper that they would wait and see, and test the markets first, before deciding what course of action to take. Read the Financial Times. We have to live in the real world. The fact is that for all the considerable, misconceived and misplaced opposition that was mounted to this Bill, at the end of the day it was the markets that defeated us and not the political opposition. The noble Lord referred to the casual workers as a cause for further grievance. I should put it on record that the Royal Mail has given assurance that the 30,000 workers are being recruited on a casual basis and are, therefore, being recruited legally. The temporary agency workers being employed are part of the Royal Mail’s usual seasonal recruitment and are not recruited directly to perform the duties of those taking place in the strike. It is as well to clarify that before I am questioned on it further. In response to the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, I am sure he would agree that it would be very difficult for ACAS to become engaged in this dispute—ACAS would need to be invited in by both sides—while the threat of a national strike hangs over the company as a whole from the union side. For ACAS to mediate and then arbitrate, it would be reasonable to expect the threat of a national strike to be lifted. Of course it will be difficult for many people who depend on the postal service should the strike occur; that is why we deplore the prospect of it happening. But some postal services will be available because not all post boxes will be sealed and the post offices will still be open. On the pension deficit and the regulatory changes, I will say this. In our legislation, we as a Government were prepared to take on the pension deficit and to make the regulatory changes, but all of us were agreed that it could be done only in the context of a real and earnest commitment to modernisation and change in this company. The fact is that we cannot, I am afraid, help Royal Mail unless the company and its workforce are prepared to help themselves. That is the reality, and we cannot get away from it.