Royal Mail staff accuse government of trying to 'buy them off'
Royal Mail staff have accused the government of trying to "buy them off" after privatisation plans that would see them handed thousands of pounds in free shares were unveiled.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said up to 10% of the new company would be given to around 150,000 postmen, postwomen and other employees under the £3 billion sell off - which will begin by the end of the financial year.
Mr Cable said putting the firm on a more commercial footing was crucial to securing the universal six-days-a-week service it currently provides.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it would fight the proposals and added that its members were "too long in the tooth" to be swayed by windfalls.
Dave Ward, the CWU's deputy general secretary, told ITV News the sale of Royal Mail "will not secure the future long term success of the company".
However, Mr Cable told ITV News that "enlightened self-interest" would lead the unions to come round on the sell-off.
ITV News business editor Laura Kuenssberg reports:
In a statement to the House of Commons, the Business Secretary said the government would sell a majority stake in the business - expected to be 51% initially.
Employees who want to buy more shares on top of their free allocation will get priority, and the remaining shares will be available to the general public as well as institutional investors under the terms of the stock market flotation.
The company will be listed on the London Stock Exchange by the end of the financial year, he added.
Labour accused the coalition of selling the Royal Mail "on the cheap" in a bid to make up for George Osborne's failing economic policy.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna told MPs the Government had failed to provide any justification for acting now.
Royal Mail's flotation is likely to be one of the biggest since British Gas was privatised in the 1980s but will not include the Post Office - which is now a separate company.
The government took responsibility of the firm's pension scheme in preparation for the sell-off.