(21 October, 2008, Paris) At the 5th Quality Administration conference, held in Paris, with the assistance of the French Presidency of the EU, Charles Cochrane, TUNED spokesperson, President of the EPSU standing committee for National Administration, addressed the issue of quality in public administrations. Overall, his message focussed on how cooperation between management and trade union representatives was essential, if genuine quality standards were to be upheld.

Mr. Cochrane started with the questions; what constitutes “improvement”? What is genuine, positive, forward looking reform and what is merely a cost cutting exercise? Is “modernisation” always beneficial to service users, simply because it has that label attached to it? Citing the privatisation examples in the United Kingdom, Mr. Cochrane counselled against such an ideologically driven route. Improvements would be given a greater chance of success if sectors are; “not be driven by simplistic targets or shareholder dividend but by “l’intérêt général” and ensure that the next generations enjoy the benefits of quality public services”. The European Commission was urged to return to a genuinely neutral stance on whether services should be public or private.

The Spanish civil service was highlighted as a major example of success through cooperation. In Spain, the social partners negotiated a revised statute of civil servants. This led to a balanced piece of legislation and avoided potential social conflicts.

In concluding his speech, Mr. Cochrane noted that; “Social dialogue does not guarantee consensual solutions, effective reform, and improved public services, but it is certain that these things have no chance of coming about without social dialogue, both at national and EU levels”.

“WHAT IS THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC SERVICES AT EUROPEAN LEVEL?”

Speech of Charles Cochrane, TUNED spokesperson, Secretary, UK Council of Civil Service Unions, PCS director of policy

Speech