Workers are decrying the demise of “one of the great inventions of our social history,” after the British government announced on Monday that it was completing the privatization of the UK’s state-run mail service by selling off its final 14 percent stake.
In a press statement, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said that “current market conditions should allow a successful sale,” and Guardian reporting indicated that banks are hopeful the shares would be sold for less than 5 percent discount on the Royal Mail’s share price.
Since the Royal Mail sell-off was first announced in 2013, it has been criticized by the country’s leading trade unions as a deal where only “the rich get richer.”
On Monday, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) issued a statement saying the privatization underscores the Tory party’s commitment to austerity “ideology” over the interests of the British people.
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