What have we learned so far from the Post Office inquiry?
That there was a group of people at the top of an institution, more than a dozen, being paid more than £100,000 per year (Paula Vennels, former Post Office CEO, was paid £5 million during her time there – £4 million in bonuses). They were incompetent. They didn’t read their emails properly although they had very little else to do. They couldn’t take decisions without advice from others in the group, and they followed advice blindly without questioning it. They couldn’t put two and two together. They had contempt for the people in the organisation who bring in the money that pays their profits and salaries. Because they judged everyone by how much they earn, they looked down on those who earn less than they do. Because they got where they are by being greedy and dishonest, they assume everybody else is too.
But anyone who has worked in a large institution or business in 21st century Britain knew all that already. That’s how every institution, public and private, works. People earning £25 – £30k are expected to make decisions and are held accountable if things go wrong. They have no subordinates to consult and can’t consult their manager because they know very little too.
What haven’t we learned? Why do both main parties still support privatisation? The flawed computer system, Horizon, was brought in by the Blair government. And the Tories continued to hand out lucrative contracts to Fujitsu even after the scandal broke. The inquiry has not yet questioned anyone as to why Fujitsu was not contacted and held to account by the Post Office from an early stage.
Crimes of profit
The infected blood scandal was caused by bringing in infected blood from the American private sector, where blood is paid for and usually given by the desperate, including drug addicts. The Grenfell fire was caused by the council contracting work to numerous private companies at the lowest-possible price, while each one took their cut of profits. Our rivers and seas are polluted because privatised water companies have given profits (and money they have borrowed) to shareholders rather than building reservoirs, fixing leaks and upgrading the systems for treating sewage.
All these private companies have devised ways of getting their hands on public money. They don’t provide value for money, the prices they charge include profits for shareholders, and large numbers of executives and managers are paid hundreds of thousands and often millions of pounds, while those who do the actual work are paid the lowest wages.
We need to undo the privatisation disaster, renationalise and bring in democratic workers’ control and management.
Kevin Pattison (retired CWU member) and Ros Campbell (Unite member)
