Great Britain is going to privatize its Post Offices?

[Peacetrain]

Listening to NPR this AM .. I heard that Great Britain is going to sell its Royal Mail.. The oldest Postal System in the world.. set up by Henry the 8th..

I guess we are becoming the world of the Corporate.

Some day it may not be known as Great Britain but the given name of whatever the richest fat cat wants to name it.

I am sure we are closer to the United States of Koch, than many of us want to even consider.

[peace13]

1. Throughout the * years I have watched and....

What happens in GB happens in the US. It is headed our way to be sure!

[Peacetrain]

4. Our post office has been in a nether world

since the Postal Reg Act. ,... supposed to run like a non profit.. but is a quasi agency.. it is almost the worst of both worlds..

The Congress still has the power to tie up all its funds.. (that is why PO are closing now, because they have to fund 80% I think of all retirements up front.. no one has to do that..but it is in effect bankrupting the PO.) and the PO is no longer supported by taxes from the public..they have to dig up the money with raising stamp costs etc.

The should be goverment agencies as they were originally set up..

[factsarenotfair]

2. They're going to have zero-hour jobs!!!!

Postal privatisation and the zero-hour workers' nightmare
I saw firsthand how introducing competition into the Royal Mail will create an army of low-paid workers in precarious jobs...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/29/postal-privatisation-zero-hour-workers

[Peacetrain]

5. Oh my word.. that is horrid

I hope everyone reads your link..

[factsarenotfair]

15. It's hard to believe, isn't it? n/t

[marmar]

3. If you peel off David Cameron's skin you'll find Maggie Thatcher underneath.

nt

[Peacetrain]

6. They keep telling me conservative in GB and Canada

are more like our Democrats.. I almost choke every time I see that posted..and I see it posted often.. Mrs Thatcher..the twin of Ronald Reagan

[City Lights]

7. I was shocked and saddened to learn this today from my local morning news.

I hope it's an utter failure, and that it fails before the corporate puppets get it implemented here.

[Peacetrain]

11. I almost dropped my coffee

when I heard it.. We have been having such headaches because of the Postal Reg Act that has been hamstringing our Post Office..

[polly7]

8. So Sad. :( nt.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. It's the Royal Mail - the delivery system, not the post offices

They were separated last year. The post offices, which handle quite a lot of other stuff (such as car licences) as well as being a place to post things, aren't part of this (the smaller ones, 'sub-post offices', can already be independent stores that sell other items). Privatising the mail is still a bad move, but it'll be worth getting the differences straight.

[Peacetrain]

10. My best wishes to you

it is a slippery slope that will make for an underclass of the postal worker.. jobs that will become more temp than professions.. and hard to stay in the middle class or get into it.. (and it is winnowing away as the minutes pass) if workers are not paid living wages or given enough hours to make those wages into a decent check ..

[liberal_at_heart]

12. not surprising. I'm sure we won't be far behind.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

13. Our post offices are actually constitutionally enumerated. A fact which may be useful

in the future at some point if/when that debate comes.

[Peacetrain]

16. +1000

[Javaman]

14. Oh man, Dorcus won't like this at all! nt