Unite: The Government must address Royal Mail's pensions deficit
Friday, 3 July 2009
12:00 AM
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 pension's deficit. The deficit needs to be addressed urgently. We anticipate that the pension's trustees will revise their estimate of the shortfall from the current figure of £3.3bn to £10bn 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 the Government are going to take to plug the pension's deficit and protect the business."
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
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