Gary Clark, retired CWU member

Many Communication Workers Union (CWU) reps and members will now be thinking about what the union will do under the Starmer-led Labour government. Jeremy Corbyn’s popular manifesto promise had been to bring Royal Mail back into public ownership. This was agreed at Labour Party conference since, but was not in the manifesto.

Meanwhile, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, whose business already owns 25% of Royal Mail, is bidding to take it over.

The Labour manifesto stated: “Royal Mail remains a key part of the UK’s infrastructure. Labour will ensure that any proposed takeover is robustly scrutinised and that appropriate guarantees are forthcoming that protect the interests of the workforce, customers and the United Kingdom, including the need to maintain a comprehensive universal service obligation. Labour will also explore new business and governance models for Royal Mail so that workers and customers who rely on Royal Mail services can have a stronger voice in the governance and strategic direction of the company.”

Privatisation has failed

The CWU national leadership said in communications to members: “The truth is privatisation has failed Royal Mail, the workforce and our customers. The CWU believes in a publicly owned Royal Mail and we will never give up on this being our ultimate goal. But we must also recognise that renationalisation is highly unlikely in the immediate political and economic environment.”

It will be extremely disappointing to members who went through the 2022 battle with Royal Mail to see the leadership put up no resistance to the Labour Party’s refusal to put renationalisation in its manifesto. The bakers’ union BFAWU included renationalisation of Royal Mail in its ‘Bakers Dozen’ manifesto, but our own union  stated: “CWU is calling for a new ownership model and a completely different governance structure that will give workers and customers a greater say over the future direction of the company”.

This is a retreat. The CWU should have been demanding that Labour carries out its agreed conference policy to bring Royal Mail back into public ownership – not some alleged “greater say” in a takeover by a billionaire. The only way workers and customers could have a real say is if it is fully nationalised under democratic workers’ control and management. This is what members must fight for.