Britainâ„¢s Royal Mail has posted a massive £403 million profit amid claims by the government that it should be privatized to survive.
The government is pushing with closures and privatizations plans at the 497-year-old service, earmarking 76 of its biggest branches for transfer to the private sector.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has staged four strike actions against the plans that will slash 20 percent of the Crown Post Offices.
CWU is now saying that the 2012 profits are more than double the £152 million gains in 2011, providing Å“compelling evidence that the service will be better off in the hands of the public sector.
“Today’s positive results are more compelling evidence of why Royal Mail should be kept in the public sector,” CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said.
Å“Privatization isn’t necessary and it would destabilize the workforce and the good progress being made. The support of the workforce is crucial to the success of the company,” he added.
The CWU deputy leader also said the profits figure justifies a pay rise Å“reward” for the commitment of the Royal Mail staff.
The Royal Mail workers have had their pays frozen since 2011.
CWU had earlier expressed outrage over the issue especially after the Crown Post Office personnel were offered lump sum Å“bribes” to sign up to the privatization plans.
Crown Post Offices constitute only three percent of the mail network of 11,800 branches across Britain, but handle 20 percent of all transactions and 40 percent of financial services sales.
AMR/HE
This article originally appeared on : Press TV