Foreign raid on Royal Mail ‘to be approved’: Sphinx Czech billionaire set to strike deal with ministers

Ministers look set to approve the takeover of Royal Mail by a Czech billionaire.

It puts the postal service in foreign hands for the first time in its 508-year history.

Union bosses representing around 100,000 civil servants told their members that the Government was “likely to approve” the £3.6bn sale to Daniel Kretinsky on national security grounds.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) also said it “anticipates” ministers will reach a deal with Kretinsky and his supporters to safeguard its future.

Union bosses have drawn up a “compromise plan” in a bid to secure the best deal for staff, including higher wages and more favorable working conditions.

“In meetings with the company, the potential buyer, the government and the regulator it is clear that we have a great opportunity to influence the future through our collective strength,” CWU general secretary Dave Ward said in a letter. to the members.

He added: “We need to work on the basis that the Government is likely to approve the takeover bid from a national security investigation perspective.”

Kretinsky, 49, will take over Royal Mail, which has its roots in the Master of Posts established by Henry VIII in 1516, in a strike at its parent company International Distribution Services (IDS).

An energy tycoon nicknamed the Czech Sphinx already controls almost 28 percent of IDS through his Vesa Equity vehicle.

But in May it made an offer for the rest of the business that was accepted by IDS’s board, raising fears about its future.

In its manifesto, the Labor Party pledged to ensure that any acquisition of Royal Mail would be “rigorously scrutinised”. A review under the National Security and Investment Law began in August.

Kretinsky has offered a series of promises on employment and the Universal Service Obligation (USO) – delivering mail across the UK six days a week at a single price – to win support for the deal.

However, many remain concerned about the implications for Royal Mail, given that the promises are limited to five years at most.

Ward said the CWU has been in talks with Kretinsky’s representatives and Royal Mail bosses and a crucial two-day meeting with the Czech billionaire’s EP Group will take place next week.

“It is vital that all members now support the union to help us create the influence needed to demand a new start for Royal Mail, the service and, most importantly, for you as frontline workers,” he added.

IDS will publish half-year results tomorrow, while Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is expected to face questions from MPs about the deal at a meeting of the House of Commons business select committee on Tuesday next week.