Royal Mail Strike – Because of Public Sector?

Posted in Power & Money, Public Sector, Trade Unions

Personally I’m sick of seeing Royal Mail all over the news with regards to strikes and disputes.

Now I’m all for workers getting fair pay.. etc and they should stand up and be counted if they’re not happy but this just getting crazy. Although I’m commenting on the situation I do not know the exact details of the dispute so this is an outsider looking in’s view.

“Royal Mail is in dispute with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over pay, conditions and modernisation plans.”  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8315605.stm

Would this not happen if the business was privately run? – is it because the government effectively fund it is this all a big issue?

I feel that the Royal Mail should be broken down and sold off! – privatise it! – then the business can be managed effectively and less disputes shall arrive.  – this will stop the delays in post and any disputes shall be resolved.

Workers need to understand that the Royal Mail needs to be re-structured if it’s to stay in the hands of the public. Do they really want to put their jobs at risk if a private firm takes over? – a private firm will no doubt cut the amount of staff, invest in new technology and make the business more efficient.

People will find alternative methods of communication and deliveries and will turn away from Royal Mail because of it becoming unreliable due to strikes.

Consumers and Businesses will not stand for this much longer…..

Digital Post – Have your post scanned in and e-mailed to you

Posted in Innovation, Internet, Power & Money, Public Sector, Technology

Digital Post – Have your post scanned in and e-mailed to you

I have just been watching ‘Click’ on BBC1 which shows you about the latest technology movements and ideas.

I’m not sure what to make of the idea of ‘Digital Post’, whether it is a smart move or a stupid one.

With more people sending mail electronically through e-mails instead of the traditional post, the postal industry is falling short because of technology, until now?

A place in Zurich is test driving this idea at the moment. You have your letters sent to an undisclosed location where your envelopes are then scanned in and e-mailed to you. If you then wish for them to open them up then they can do and then scan the contents in and e-mail that to you too.

They said that they have trustworthy ‘vetted’ employees to do the job.

This is what I’m thinking:

• Good idea – Just Brilliant, helps the postal industry embrace technology.
• Bad Idea – there goes all of your personal information, credit card statements, cheque books, replacement cards etc.
• Bad Idea – Stolen Identities just got a little bit easier.
• Good Idea to make money for the business, but what will they charge to scan in thousands and thousands of letters.
• Time Consuming? – To the business to open up all of those letters.
• Time Consuming to the Customer where you have to have your mail redirected to somewhere else and then have it opened and scanned in, just to find it’s an important letter so it takes time for them to send it back.
• What happens if my bank ask me for a copy of my bill or statement?

Can you really see the Royal Mail embracing Technology as this? – I can’t see them going to this extreme but maybe they will have to find a way to embrace technology as this.

One thing that did pop into my head was that we can already see some our energy bills online and bank statements. We will always need to have things sent to us such as physical goods like parcels etc.

Perhaps the encouragement of getting more people to e-mail us?

Digital Post Box – Connects to your Wi-Fi network can you can send e-mails from it in your living room? No booting up a pc…. who knows?

Should US Adopt an ‘NHS’ System or Stick to Private Sector

Posted in Business Review, Public Sector

Should US Adopt an ‘NHS’ System or Stick to Private Sector
Advantages vs Disadvantages of Privatisation

It has been in the news recently to do with America wanting to update their health care system and today there was debate going on to whether or not a Public Sector Health Care System like the NHS is better compared to a privatised health care sector.

Rhys Gregory Examines:

Advantages of Public Sector – (Government Health Care System)

• It allows people who cannot afford health care to receive it.
• It’s ethical and humane to do so.
• Expensive treatments and operations are already paid for.

Disadvantages

• It’s costly to the Government.
• The Government may have to increase taxes to in order to supplement the cost of running the health care system.
• People that do not use it still pay for it.
• Many argue that money and time is wasted through inefficiency.

Notes

• NHS still charges for prescriptions depending on circumstances etc. This is good because the people that cannot afford to pay don’t pay.
• There’s still a private sector in the UK and people do have the option of health insurance and paying privately for treatment.

Private Sector Health Care – (Privately Owned Health Care System)

Advantages

• Many argue that because businesses are run for a profit they will be more efficiently managed.
• There can possibly be more investment in new medical equipment.
• The Best staff can be hired by offering higher wage rates.

Disadvantages

• If the business isn’t profitable then it will go under provided (like many other merit goods) and there may not be a service to offer.
• Only available to the people that can afford it.
• May damage the long-term infrastructure of the economy if a large proportion (50 million people in the US) cannot afford health care, people become sick and die. Shows that the country is less economically developed. Possible lower life expectancy.

Personal Conclusion

• Every business wastes resources including both public and private sector businesses. You just need the right staff to be able to ensure efficiency of any business.
• Public Health system is not capped and patients usually find £100’s of thousands of pounds are spent on people’s treatment.
• It’s a fair system to have a public sector health care system.
• In the UK health care system you also have the option to go private.
• A part of me feels it’s unfair for people to pay for a system they don’t use but at the end of the day, we’ll use it at some point and we’re all nice people and people that cannot afford to be pain free do deserve it.
• Public Health sector does its best to ensure investment in new technology and if it’s still not good enough for you then you can go private.

Should the Royal-Mail be Privatised? (Advantages & Disadvantages)

Posted in Public Sector

Should the Royal-Mail be Privatised?

This has been on the cards for a while and with the partial sell off of Royal-Mail looks not to proceed at this current time: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8129101.stm

We look at the advantages and disadvantages of privatising a public sector business.

Advantages of Privatisation

• Improved Efficiency – It’s argued that public sector businesses are not really designed for making profit but to provide a service to the public. If the business is privatised then through its new owners the business will be profit driven. It will mean the business will have to cut costs and become efficient to make a profit.
• The deregulation of the market will mean introduce Royal Mail to new competition. In order to survive this the business will have to become efficient.
• It’s argued that increased competition and efficiency should leave to lower prices in the lon-run.
• Less political interference in the long-run will mean the business can be left alone to be run and make a profit.
• Shareholders – this will firstly allow inward investment into the business so that it can improve its infrastructure. It will give the business a bit of pressure to make a profit to provide returns to shareholders.
• The Government also raise revenue from the sale of a public sector business such as the Royal –Mail which could be used to lower debt or even be used to invest in Health & Education.

Disadvantages of Privatisation

• Royal Mail may take a while to become efficient and if competition is introduced then new businesses could lower their prices below that of Royal Mail for the time being.
• If new competition isn’t introduced by deregulation then the business will be a Monopoly and may raise prices to make a profit in the short-term.
• If the business I sold to a private company and the private company can’t make a profit from the Royal Mail then they will fail to provide that service. This is what’s called Market Failure.  It may result in the business having to be nationalised again at the expense of the tax Paper.
• The Royal Mail doesn’t seem to make a profit at the moment anyways, but if it did then the Government would lose out on revenue from the business if it decided to sell it.
• To become efficient there may be job losses and even disputes with workers over pay and working conditions.

What do you think? – Should it be privatised?