PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
ROYAL MAIL INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE (9 October 2007)

That this House notes that the Government is the sole owner of Royal Mail and that the 2005 Labour Manifesto commits it to `a publicly owned Royal Mail fully restored to good health, providing customers with an excellent service and its employees with rewarding employment'; believes that, given this stated aim, Ministers need to take a more active and interventionist role in trying to ensure a fair, just and negotiated settlement to the current dispute in the interests of all concerned, including the workforce and business and residential customers of the Royal Mail; and urges the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to use his influence urgently to obtain a settlement, initiate an immediate review of the impact on the Royal Mail of the liberalistation of the postal services market as promised in the 2005 manifesto, and consider whether alternative carriers to the Royal Mail should themselves make a direct contribution to the cost of the Universal Service Obligation.

Sponsored by:
John Grogan (Labour)