Introduction - political context
The political context:
On 28 November, the ETUC launched its petition calling for One Million signatures in support of a framework directive for public services. The deadline set was the ETUC Congress on 21-24 May, in Seville, Spain.
Quite simply, the ETUC petition on public services must be a success and must be seen to be a success. In recent years EPSU has made two major advances in relation to public services;
1. We have succeeded in formulating a coherent EPSU policy on how the EU should respond to the challenge of ensuring high quality public services for all. We are of one voice in stating that a framework directive on public services is the way forward.
2. We have also succeeded, as EPSU, in ensuring that the ETUC publicly commits to a strong line on public services (see ETUC public services strategy, adopted on 18 October, 2006).
Having advanced the political argument, we now need to ensure that these two major advances, the ETUC commitment, and the push for a framework directive for public services, become mutually reinforcing. EPSU sees the ETUC petition on public services www.petitionpublicservice.eu/ as an essential way to combine these elements.
The Petition can act as a motor for:
1. The EPSU campaign ‘Quality Public Services - Quality of Life’
2. The ETUC Congress itself, which will be held on 21-24, May, in Seville.
By following clear practical steps we can ensure that the petition reaches its aim, which ensures that the ETUC Congress will have a big success story to promote, and will make sure that that story is on public services.
The attached document is a clear step-by-step guide to ensuring that the online petition is a success. The guide should be digested and applied in each of the healed officers, regional and local offices of the EPSU trade union affiliate. The document should also be sent to all contacts (other trade unions, NGO’s, Politicians).
Every time the guide is distributed, it should be sent with a copy of the EPSU campaign document ‘quality public services - quality of life’ available here
Also the EPSU secretariat should be copied when each new contact is made.
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