Royal Mail privatisation approved

[chef]

The Telegraph

The Government is to press ahead with controversial privatisation plans for the Royal Mail after a report it commissioned warned that ''urgent action'' was needed to protect the service, it has been announced.

[Sockpuppet]

That's annoying. I was expecting some fairly interesting post in the next few months.

I'll give you odds of 1-1 that the unions think this is a terrible idea.

[doodab]

They clearly need to do something.

On the other hand, privatisation of public utilities hasn't exactly been a boon for customer service standards.

Personally I would auction licenses to deliver mail to the highest bidder. That should bring in some decent money and would make it easier to ditch the whole CWU infected mess and start again.

[Alf W]

Interesting view on the Privatisation vs Nationalisation debate.

Extract:

If councillors announce plans to close a local hospital, people can vote them out – and this pressure can make them think twice.

There is no such pressure on a boss. Private companies in charge of hospitals can close them if they’re not “profitable” enough – with no regard to the needs of ordinary people.

There is also an important ideological point to make in opposing privatisation. We do not think that our services should be run as businesses to make profit – we think they should be run as services to meet the needs of the people who use them.

The dominating mantra of “business is best” turns services into things to exploit for profit – with horrendous effects for those who rely on them.

It is for these reasons that socialists oppose all forms of privatisation. But we don’t think nationalisation is perfect.

[CheeseSlice]

There was a dude on BBC News 24 from a big union saying that if it is privatised like in the Netherlands then they will probably reduce the post service to something like 3 days per week to drive up profits.

That prospect really does put me off.

[moorfield]

I'll give you odds of 1-1 that the unions think this is a terrible idea.

Bravo I say. We (the taxpayer) can't afford to carry this whingeing lot any more.

And nice to see the Lib Dems carrying the can for this one. Bonus.

Next up the RMT.

[Mich the Tester]

There was a dude on BBC News 24 from a big union saying that if it is privatised like in the Netherlands then they will probably reduce the post service to something like 3 days per week to drive up profits.

That prospect really does put me off.

<bad taste money grabbing contractor mode>
They'll need a big SAP HR system if they go the same way as NL, and just by coincidence I know a bit about that stuff.

Great news for contractors!
</bad taste money grabbing contractor mode>

[CheeseSlice]

There was a dude on BBC News 24 from a big union saying that if it is privatised like in the Netherlands then they will probably reduce the post service to something like 3 days per week to drive up profits.

That prospect really does put me off.

Thought I'd best check this was factual, rather than saying 'some dude from some union' said so.

Here it is:

The Dutch postal company TNT plans to shed 11,000 jobs as the firm slims down its operations, cutting deliveries from the present six days a week to just three

[Spacecadet]

Interesting view on the Privatisation vs Nationalisation debate.

There is no such pressure on a boss. Private companies in charge of hospitals can close them if they’re not “profitable” enough – with no regard to the needs of ordinary people.

Extract:

Only true in the case of a truely private hospital.
Where a hospital is being run by a private healthcare to provide public health provision then they will not be allowed to shut it down to stop making a loss.
Same goes for other utilities. The private companies operate on a license basis, they do not (usually) have the ability to withdraw core services.

[minestrone]

The argument between public and private ownership in terms of cost and quality can be totally won by looking at Scottish and English water.

In Scotland we pay more for our water which has the lowest quality in Britain, we also put more raw sewage out to sea than England. Your water may taste like crap but it is less likely to kill you and costs you less.