Daniel Kretinsky ‘ready to consider’ giving workers stake in Royal Mail

In what is seen as Daniel Kretinsky’s latest plea for unions to approve his £3.6 billion takeover bid for Royal Mail, the Czech billionaire said he was prepared to give workers a stake in the company.

According to the Sunday Times, a source close to Daniel Kretinsky said the proposal was “absolutely something we are prepared to consider” following discussions with the union last week.

The stance appears to contradict his view last month when the billionaire told the Sunday Times that giving staff a stake in the company could prove difficult because Royal Mail is a private company.

Kretinksy struck a deal with International Distributions Services (IDS), the owner of Royal Mail, late last month for £3.6 billion, but the deal is far from done.

Under the National Security & Investment Act (NSIA), the government has the power to potentially block the deal if it concludes that national security could be threatened.

The deal must also be backed by shareholders, meaning support from the Communications Workers Union (CWU) – which has halted postal services for 18 days in 2022 over pay and working conditions – is crucial.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward met with Kretinsky’s representatives last week, according to the Sunday Times, to outline his demands.

“We are working on the details and nothing is excluded. I don’t think the two camps are as far apart as one might think,” a source close to Kretinsky told the Sunday Times.

Kretinsky’s interest in giving workers a stake in the company is said to satisfy Labor if it takes power in the upcoming July 4 general election. The party pledged to “thoroughly examine” the power grab and give workers a “stronger voice”. However, only time will tell how far he is willing to go.

If the deal goes through – which analysts doubt – it will bring the organization to entirely foreign ownership for the first time and could pave the way for a series of “modernization measures” that Kretinsky says will restore the company in difficulty profitability.