{"id":99829,"date":"2024-12-17T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/?p=99829"},"modified":"2024-12-17T11:46:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T11:46:40","slug":"future-royal-mail-5-promises-to-protect-worker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/future-royal-mail-5-promises-to-protect-worker\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Mail&#8217;s \u00a33.6 Billion Takeover: How Kretinsky\u2019s Deal Will Impact Workers and Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Royal Mail<\/strong>, a <strong>cornerstone<\/strong> of the <strong>British postal service<\/strong> for over <strong>500 years<\/strong>, is facing a <strong>historic change<\/strong>. With the <strong>government approving<\/strong> a <strong>foreign investor&#8217;s takeover<\/strong>, <strong>questions arise<\/strong> about its <strong>future<\/strong>, the <strong>assurances<\/strong> in place, and the <strong>impact<\/strong> on <strong>thousands of workers<\/strong>. Here, we examine the <strong>key details<\/strong> of this <strong>unprecedented shift<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Daniel Kretinsky : The Investor Behind the Deal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Daniel Kretinsky, known as the <strong>\u201cCzech Sphinx,\u201d<\/strong> is a billionaire investor with growing influence in the UK. He holds a <strong>27% stake<\/strong> in <strong>IDS<\/strong>, Royal Mail&#8217;s parent company, and has notable interests in <strong>West Ham United Football Club<\/strong> and <strong>Sainsbury\u2019s<\/strong>. Kretinsky\u2019s investment vehicle, <strong>Vesa Equity Investment<\/strong>, is leading the <strong>\u00a33.6 billion acquisition<\/strong>, following scrutiny by the <strong>UK Government<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Royal Mail\u2019s availability for foreign takeover has been shaped by significant milestones over the past decade, transitioning it from a <strong>public institution<\/strong> to a <strong>fully privatised company<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>2013<\/strong>: Royal Mail was <strong>separated<\/strong> from the <strong>Post Office<\/strong> and listed on the <strong>London Stock Exchange<\/strong>, beginning its journey to private ownership.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2015<\/strong>: The <strong>government sold its final shares<\/strong>, subjecting Royal Mail to <strong>market forces<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>October 2023<\/strong>: Royal Mail Group <strong>rebranded<\/strong> as <strong>International Distribution Services (IDS)<\/strong>, solidifying its status as a <strong>listed public company<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This series of changes paved the way for the <strong>current takeover<\/strong> under <strong>UK corporate laws<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Did Royal Mail Become Available for Takeover?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Royal Mail&#8217;s journey to private ownership began in <strong>2013<\/strong> when it was separated from the Post Office and listed on the <strong>London Stock Exchange<\/strong>. By <strong>2015<\/strong>, the Government sold its final shares, making Royal Mail subject to market forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <strong>October 2023<\/strong>, Royal Mail Group rebranded as <strong>International Distribution Services (IDS)<\/strong>, solidifying its position as a listed public company, thus enabling the current takeover under UK corporate laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Government<\/strong> reviewed the deal under the <strong>National Security and Investment Act 2021<\/strong>, which allows intervention in transactions impacting national security. Given <strong>Royal Mail<\/strong>\u2019s critical role in the UK\u2019s infrastructure, the deal underwent thorough scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS) will be taken over by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky after agreeing a \u00a33.5 billion deal. [<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/standardsport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@standardsport<\/a>] <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZB9iDcBvYr\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/ZB9iDcBvYr<\/a><\/p>&mdash; COYIrons (@COYIronscom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/COYIronscom\/status\/1795719654222262735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May 29, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government\u2019s Role in the Approval Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Business Secretary<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/jonathan-reynolds\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/jonathan-reynolds\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <strong>Jonathan Reynolds<\/strong><\/a> approved the takeover after securing <strong>legally binding commitments<\/strong> from Kretinsky to safeguard national interests, workers, and service obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Commitments Secured by the Government<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To address concerns about foreign ownership, Kretinsky has agreed to the following pledges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Preservation of the Royal Mail Name<\/strong>: The brand will remain unchanged.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Headquarters and Tax Residency<\/strong>: Both will stay in the <strong>UK<\/strong> for at least five years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Universal Service Obligation (USO)<\/strong>: Royal Mail will continue to deliver letters <strong>six days a week<\/strong> nationwide at standard rates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;Golden Share&#8221; Protection<\/strong>: The Government retains a <strong>golden share<\/strong>, requiring consent for key changes, such as relocating headquarters or altering tax residency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pension Protection<\/strong>: Kretinsky has committed not to use Royal Mail\u2019s <strong>pension surplus<\/strong>, ensuring financial stability for its workforce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These <strong>measures aim<\/strong> to maintain <strong>Royal Mail<\/strong>\u2019s operational continuity and <strong>ease concerns <\/strong>regarding <strong>foreign ownership<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impact on Royal Mail Workers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk-pensioners-on-pip-dla-adp-extra-payment\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"99804\">Royal Mail employs<\/a> approximately <strong>140,000 people<\/strong>, and the takeover brings both assurances and ongoing negotiations. Kretinsky\u2019s <strong>EP Group<\/strong> has committed to working closely with unions, including the <strong>Communication Workers Union (CWU)<\/strong> and <strong>Unite<\/strong>, to support employees. Key pledges include :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dividend Sharing<\/strong> : Workers will receive <strong>10% of dividends<\/strong> distributed to Kretinsky.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Worker Representation<\/strong> : A dedicated <strong>worker committee<\/strong> will hold monthly meetings with executives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Job Security <\/strong>: EP Group has committed to no <strong>forced redundancies until 2025<\/strong>. However, unions are pushing to extend this guarantee beyond the initial two years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>\u00a33.6 billion takeover<\/strong> of <strong>Royal Mail<\/strong> by <strong>Daniel Kretinsky<\/strong> signals a <strong>significant turning point<\/strong> for the <strong>500-year-old institution<\/strong>. While the <strong>Government<\/strong> has secured <strong>commitments<\/strong> to <strong>protect national interests<\/strong> and <strong>workers<\/strong>, the <strong>full impact<\/strong> of <strong>foreign ownership<\/strong> will become clear in the <strong>years ahead<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The takeover of Royal Mail by Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky marks a major turning point for this historic institution, raising questions about its future, its workforce, and its essential services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":99860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99829"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99861,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99829\/revisions\/99861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}