Postal workers say Royal Mail sell off would be a disaster

The postal workers' union says it will fight hard to stop the Royal Mail being privatised

Postal workers say privatising the Royal Mail would be a disaster and have pledged to step up the fight against a sell off.

At the Communication Workers Union (CWU) annual conference in Bournemouth delegates expressed total opposition to the move.

The Government is planning to sell 90% of the Royal Mail, possibly by late 2013, raising up to £4bn.

CWU members said there was no moral or economic case for this.

The Royal Mail's main letters business is losing money as people continue to increase their use of electronic communication and send fewer physical pieces of mail.

The union wants the Labour Party to promise to renationalise the postal group if it is sold to shareholders should the party win the next general election.

The CWU's general secretary Billy Hayes said the union was sending a strong message to firms which he said were "circling" the Royal Mail by making it clear that privatisation was not necessary.

He said: "Privatisation would be a disaster for this industry, and while there is life in this union we will continue campaigning to keep the post public."

John Woodhouse, delegate for north-east England, said: "There is no moral or economic case for privatising the Royal Mail. Post offices will be under threat, prices will go through the roof and the universal service will disappear into the sunset."

The conference passed an emergency motion to continue campaigning against privatisation.

The Post Office is not part of the government's plans for a sell off and it may be mutualised in the style of a building society.

A £1.3bn investment programme is under way to revamp more than 6,000 branches.