Outsourcing, Recruitment & organising
Strong public service unions are vital if we are to stand up for our values and our vision in our workplaces, sectors and communities. They are crucial in dealing with national, European and global institutions and in representing public service workers in national trade union centres and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). EPSU affiliates are more effective in negotiating and campaigning where they can count on an active membership, high union density or broad support from workers.
EPSU has been taking a range of initiatives to support affiliates, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, to build union power by developing recruitment and organising strategies and campaigns. This briefing, prepared for the 2019 Congress, covers recent work and current priorities. Our Organising and Campaigns staff, Agnieszka Ghinararu, Miloš Vlaisavljević and Artem Tidva, are working with affiliates to help them with advice, support and training and keeping them informed about new ideas on recruitment and organising methods.
UK: the benefits of outsourcing – where's the evidence?
The university sector in the UK, and some universities in particular, are under pressure to cut costs and to outsource services - the Working Lives Research Institute (WLRI) at London Metropolitan University has produced a very useful overview of the evidence on outsourcing.
Finland: Many municipalities plan to recall work that has been outsourced
Many municipalities and joint authorities 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.
Portugal: unions convince Lisbon city council to reject outsourcing
In 2010 Lisbon city council decided to restructure its services to try to reduce its levels of spending. It published plans which included proposals for reducing the number of departments, transferring some work to the smaller district councils in the city and for contracting-out some services.