Remunicipalisation, PPPs
Bringing services back in-house
EPSU has consistently argued in favour of direct provision of public services to guarantee the quality of services and the quality of employment for workers delivering those services. Under the heading of remunicipalisation EPSU supports and promotes any initiatives to bring services back in-house where they have been privatised along with moves to have new services run by municipalities and other public authorities. EPSU is part of a network, coordinated by the Transnational Institute that has published research highlighting recent trends in remunicipalisation and insourcing.
UK company collapse and damning official report expose true cost of privatisation
The collapse of the outsourcing company Carillion earlier this week and the publication on 17 January of an official report on public-private partnerships have exposed the risks and inefficiencies of privatisation.
The Creeping Privatisation of Health Care in the European Union
A new briefing paper of Corporate Europe on the Creeping Privatisation of Health Care in the European Union provides detailed insight in the political and market mechanisms that increase health inequalities and lead to privatization of basic care.
Workers and residents affected as more care companies collapse
(May 2017) Around 200 workers and the 1100 people they provide care for are the latest victims of private care company bankruptices. The collapse of Hjemmehjælpen Aarhus, the largest private care company in Aarhus, Denmark's second city, is the third private care company bankruptcy in May and the 41st since 2013 when a new tendering system was introduced. The FOA public service union is calling for a change to the system with requirements to monitor professional and management skills, company finances and to protect working conditions.
World Bank called on to fix the accounting problems that make Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) fundamentally flawed and dangerous
In an open letter Eurodad, PSI, EPSU and others criticise the World Bank’s consultation on Recommended PPP Contractual Provisions and demand that is is put on hold
Unions secure guarantees over hospital privatisation
(September 2016) The GWU general union and MUMN nurses' union have both signed agreements with the government providing guarantees on pay and conditions and collective agreements applying to workers affected by a public-private partnership covering three hospitals. The workers affected will remain government employees.
Private Sector Dominates UNECE Forum on PPPs
Public Services International (PSI) has criticised the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for a lack of democracy and an almost demagogic bias in favour of the private sector as it tries to set global standards for Public-Private Partnerships.
Why Public-Private Partnerships don't work, The many advantages of the public alternative (New PSI publication)
The Juncker Investment Plan to create a European Fund for Strategic Investment is aiming to use public money to get more private funding. It hopes to stimulate more Public Private Partnerships.
EPSU Briefing on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) "11 facts about public-private partnerships (PPPs)"
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are not the answer to public finance constraints. This updated briefing from the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) highlights the serious financial and operational problems that have arisen with PPPs.
Juncker's plan promotes PPPs which socialise risks and privatise profits - new briefings show
(Press Communication – 16 December 2014) - The Juncker investment plan will be under scrutiny at this week’s European Council with many questions still to be clarified about how it will work in practice.
Report challenges assumptions on private sector efficiency
There is no empirical evidence that the private sector is intrinsically more efficient than the public sector. This is the main conclusion from a comprehensive review of hundreds of studies covering all forms of privatisation across many different sectors.