Royal Mail fleet sell-off may prompt postal workers strike

The Royal Mail and Parcelforce yesterday put their entire 40,000-strong vehicle fleet up for sale in a move denounced by unions as further evidence of the creeping privatisation of postal services.

Consignia, the group formerly known as the Post Office, said its preferred option was to form a joint venture in which it would retain a 51 per cent stake. But a spokesman added that an outright sale of the fleet remained an option.

He denied the move was linked to privatisation, insisting that Consignia's main aim was to operate the fleet more commercially and economically.

But the Communication Workers Union warned that it would oppose the plan "legally, politically and industrially". The union is examining whether there are grounds for balloting members on industrial action.

Thefleet sell-off is the most significant step taken so far to outsource what Consignia describes as "non-core operations". Previously, it has formed a joint venture with Compass to provide catering services at sorting and delivery offices and is studying plans to outsource its engineering and facilities management arm, Romec.

The vehicles division consists of 30,000 Royal Mail vans and trucks and 10,000 Parcelforce vehicles, which are used to collect letters and parcels and trunk them around the country. It also operates a network of 180 workshops and depots.

Consignia said the 1,700 staff directly employed by the division would transfer to the new owners of the business. But the 40,000 staff that drive the vehicles and collect letters would continue to be employed by Royal Mail and Parcelforce.

"This is nothing to do with privatisation ­ the ownership of Consignia is a matter for government and that has not changed," a spokesman maintained. "What this is all about is taking a sensible commercial approach to support facilities currently within the organisation. It makes business sense to look at whether some functions remain in-house or are sourced in a different way."

But John Keggie, deputy general secretary of the CWU, pledged to oppose the move "in the interests of the workforce, the industry and the public".

He added: "We have tried without success to convince Consignia not to go down this road, which we believe will be to the detriment of our members and the business. We have raised our concerns with Government and will insist that it accepts its responsibilities."

Consignia said it spent £400m a year on the management and operations of its vehicle fleet and hoped to achieve "significant cost savings and efficiences" through outsourcing the division. But the spokesman maintained this would not entail job losses. All staff directly affected would be protected under employment legislation governing the transfer of employees.

Consignia slumped to a £3m operating loss last year after being hit by an unprecedented level of wildcat strikes, disruption to rail services and post office closures. In announcing the "disappointing" results, Consignia's chief executive, John Roberts, warned that improvements in productivity and a reduction in costs was needed this year to avoid job losses.