Royal Mail shares to be sold before postal workers can strike

Royal Mail shares are to be sold by mid-October, before postal workers have a chance to strike over the move.

The company is valued at £2.6bn to £3.3bn, the government said on today (Friday 27 September).

The Department for Business said Royal Mail would list on the London Stock Exchange next month.

Postal workers will on Friday begin voting on whether to take industrial action to oppose the plan.

In a statement, the government said that 10% of the shares, priced between 260p and 330p, would be given to about 150,000 "eligible UK-based Royal Mail employees".

The government will also sell between 40.1% and 52.2% of the Royal Mail under its privatisation proposal.

Members of the public can apply for Royal Mail shares online until 8 October. So-called "conditional dealings" in shares on the London Stock Exchange will begin on 11 October, while "unconditional dealings" will commence on 15 October.

The minimum application for the public wishing to purchase shares is £750, or £500 for eligible Royal Mail employees.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is balloting 100,000 of its members on a nationwide strike over the privatisation, as well as on changes to salary and pensions.

The CWU said it "criticised" the government for pressing ahead with what it called an "unpopular" privatisation.