Europe Staff Face Royal Mail Share Blackout

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Thousands of staff who work for Royal Mail's European parcels arm face being excluded from Government plans to hand free or discounted shares to employees as part of the company's privatisation.

I have learnt that ministers and Whitehall officials are deliberating over whether the roughly 13,000 people who are employed by General Logistics Systems (GLS) should be involved in a staff share ownership scheme.

Ministers are understood to be sensitive to potential accusations that they are orchestrating a share giveaway worth hundreds of millions of pounds from which thousands of French, German and Italian citizens would stand to benefit.

GLS, which delivers more than 360 million parcels to 220,000 customers every year, is one of the most profitable parcel delivery businesses in the world. Its earnings have been one of few financial bright spots during the restructuring of Royal Mail during the last decade.

Under plans being drawn up by the Government, Royal Mail employees would receive at least 10% of the company's shares as part of a privatisation, the likeliest route for which is a stock market flotation later this year.

But one Whitehall official said that it was "difficult to envisage" GLS employees being invited to participate in a share ownership plan on the same terms as UK-based workers.

In a statement issued to Sky News, a spokesman for BIS declined to comment specifically on the debate about GLS staff but said:

"No final decisions have been made on the shape of the employee share scheme. However, our overarching policy is to secure and protect the UK's universal service, of which the employee share scheme plays a significant part.

"We have been clear that the UK's postmen and women should benefit from the future performance of the company."

An insider confirmed that the reference to "the UK's postmen and women" was significant in excluding overseas-based employees of Royal Mail Group.

The Government has yet to decide the exact form of any share windfalls for staff, and Michael Fallon, the Business Minister leading the privatisation plans, has been careful not to confirm suggestions that the shares would necessarily be free.

"You could offer discounted shares, heavily discounted shares or there could be free shares," he said at the weekend.

In total, Royal Mail employs approximately 130,000 people, although this number is understood to include the 13,000 GLS staff.

Royal Mail declined to comment.

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