(December 2011) Many municipalities and joint authorities (set up by two or more local authorities to tend to specific tasks on a permanent basis) are disappointed with the results of outsourcing. And the dissatisfaction is so great that up to a fifth of these public organizations plan to take back outsourced work so that it can be done once again by their own personnel. This is one of the major findings from the latest questionnaire directed at JHL (Trade Union for the Public and Welfare (...)

(December 2011) Over 140 mayors from across the political spectrum have signed up to a campaign for improved funding of local government services. The campaign is calling for a re-negotiation of the federal Austrian financial distribution system, which the national government plans to undertake in 2013. By doing this, the various groups in the ‘Communal Resolution Campaign’ want to promote a new type of dialogue and alliance-building between trade unions, civil society, local politicians (...)

(December 2011) The GMB general union has told the Department of Health that it needs to get to grips with the very real risks to the social care market, if another Southern Cross care home disaster is to be avoided. The GMB’s evidence to the Department of Health discussion paper, Oversight of the social care market, submitted on 2 December, warned of dangers that have been ignored up to now. The existing framework is completely inadequate and doesn’t provide any proper check on the (...)

(November 2011) A report by the SNS Centre for Business and Policy Studies concludes that there is no clear evidence of any efficiency benefits arising from the private provision of welfare services or the increase in competition. Konkurrensens konsekvenser. Vad händer med svensk välfärd? (The consequences of competition. What has happened to the Swedish welfare system?) provides background on the major restructuring of welfare services carried out in Sweden over the last 20 years. There (...)

(November 2011) At the beginning of October Dublin City councillors overwhelmingly passed a motion opposing the city manager’s plans to outsource the waste collection service. The motion noted a briefing paper by the IMPACT public services trade union that had been sent to all Dublin City councillors. IMPACT has said it is willing to find savings to ensure that the Dublin city council retains its waste collection service. The union says the outsourcing proposal will inevitably lead to (...)

(November 2011) A little after a decade after the onset of liberalisation and privatisation, the German energy sector is experiencing a return to public and communal ownership. Since 2007, 44 new local public utilities (Stadtwerke) have been set up and more than 100 private concession contracts for energy distribution networks and service delivery have returned to public hands. Entire regional networks have been sold by the large energy corporations to the public regional authorities. (...)

(October 2011) The outsourcing of public services has become big business and is increasing as governments around Europe resort to it in the hope of making short-term cost savings. While public sector unions have often argued against privatization on the grounds of the impact on the quality of employment and the quality of services, they have focused much less on the social responsibility of the companies that are winning the contracts. A recent report by Ethical Consumer magazine in the (...)

(October 2011) This is a briefing prepared by the public service research organisation, PSIRU). Social care is becoming more important in European and other countries, partly because of ageing populations. Private companies operate a rising proportion of social care facilities: see the recent PSIRU reports Care Services for Older People in Europe and Care services, multinational companies and expanding European markets. In the UK, where they already run over two-thirds of care homes, a (...)

(October 2011) A major review of the impact of contracting out calls into question the benefits of getting the private sector to deliver public services. Researchers in Denmark examined the findings of 80 studies published since 2000 that analysed the impact of contracting out. They considered the evidence in terms of cost savings, impact on quality and outcomes for the employees affected. They also looked in particular at possible differences in results in relation to technical services (...)

(July 2011) In March 2011 the Swedish parliament voted to reject government plans to sell shares in state-owned companies. The centre-right government, which does not have an overall majority, proposed to sell shares in the electricity company Vattenfall, the mortgage provider SBAB, the postal service provider Posten (jointly owned with the Danish government), and the telecom group TeliaSonera (which is 37% state-owned, following an earlier partial privatisation). Following a strong (...)