The Lib Dems may have many endearing qualities but affection, or even respect, for trade unions is not one of them.

In my experience, the ones I have come across have nurtured a deep and abiding antipathy towards organised labour.

(OK. I am generalising but, hey, this is a blog, not an academic treatise.)

So when the ConLib Government says it wants to part privatise the Royal Mail, selling up to 49%, we should believe them.

The outgoing Labour Government, which over the years developed a fetish for private sector solutions, sought to find a “partner” for the Royal Mail but, fortunately, failed.

Now I read in the FT today that Moya Greene, the Chief Executive of Canada Post is in talks to run the Royal Mail.

A year ago, on 14 May 2009, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a “report card” assessing Ms Greene’s performance as Chief Executive of Canada Post.

Here is what they had to say:

Ottawa  – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is marking Moya Greene’s fourth anniversary as President and CEO of the Canada Post by releasing a report card evaluating the corporation’s track record under her management.

Greene will receive a national report card today from CUPW that shows how injuries, strikes and grievances have gone up at Canada Post since she took the helm four years ago. It also shows how respect in the work place has deteriorated during the same period.

“If you compare the four years before Greene with the four years under Greene’s management, the numbers show that injuries have gone up 15.4 per cent and grievances have gone up 59.3 per cent,” said CUPW National President Denis Lemelin. “We’ve also seen days lost to national strikes go from three to 36 and there has been a sharp decline in efforts to expand community services.”

“The results of the CUPW’s online poll on Greene’s performance indicate that she has significantly eroded labour relations,” said Lemelin. “In fact, 94 percent of respondents, most of them postal workers, think that Greene should not be reappointed for another five year term.”

Greene and her management team received an F for injuries, a D- for grievances, a C- for strike days, a D for expanding services and an F for respect. The overall grade was D-.

“I think it’s pretty obvious there is something seriously wrong at the senior levels of management at Canada Post,” said Lemelin.

For its part, the minority Conservative Government in Ottawa has confirmed it is not changing Canada Post’s status.

Government Minister, Rob Merrifield, told CUPW National president, Denis Lemelin, on 26 March: “The government has no intention of privatizing Canada Post at this time. This includes employee ownership.