30 June - 2 July

1st Workshop on decentralisation, the changing role of the State and trade union response

Oxford, UK

This meeting was the first in a series of three workshops organised by EPSU in the framework of the TRACE project http://www.traceproject.org.

19 representatives from EPSU affiliated unions took part, from 12 countries. Most but not all came from the LRG or NEA sectors, and there was a mix of representatives from both “new” and “older” Member States.

The aim of EPSU’s TRACE project is to examine the impact of decentralisation on public services and employment and to analyse how decentralisation is linked with more general trends regarding the changing role of the State. At the end of the project we shall produce a handbook for affiliates based on the experiences gained during the project. The term “decentralisation” is interpreted broadly to include the decentralisation/relocation of administration as well as the devolution of political power and responsibilities.

The Oxford workshop laid the ground for future work on these issues, including in two more workshops: 15 to 17 December 2005 (in the Ver.di training centre in Berlin) and April 2006 (date/venue to be finalised).

The workshop addressed questions such as: what does decentralisation really mean? Why and how is it taking place? Does decentralisation improve the quality of services to citizens? What impact does it have on employment and trade union organisation? Participants prepared case studies around these questions and there were also general presentations on:

EPSU and its work in relation to public services;
The concepts, definitions and trends in decentralisation from the European Institute for Public Administration;
The links between decentralisation, new public management and impact on industrial relations, from the Labour Research Department (LRD).