Remunicipalisation, Privatisation
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.
The fight for public water goes on in Greece
On Thursday the 22nd of February a group of trade unionists including the president and vice president of EYDAP visited the European Public Service Union (EPSU) to discuss the struggles they are facing with the water privatisation in Greece.
Will the circular economy be an economy with no workers? New study published
A report written by The Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) and commissioned by European Public Service Union (EPSU) investigates the impact of privatization and liberalization on waste services.
Brussels Film Premiere of 'Up to the last drop' on February 22nd at the Vendome cinema organized by trade unions and civil society organizations
Why is the EU inciting Southern European countries to privatize their distribution services and to recycle their water? An Investigation at the heart of a secret war that our future depends on.
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.
Government decree ends outsourcing
The government has passed a decree that effectively ends outsourcing in central and local government. Outsourced workers in central government will be directly employed by the central government institutions while those in local authorities will be transferred to local authority-owned companies, rather than directly to the local authorities. The changes have been welcomed by trade unions although some have expressed concern about the difference in rights and pay and conditions for those in local authority companies and about the fact that the changes were implemented by decree with no
Study of eldercare takes up issues around staffing, education and pay
The Eurofound research agency has published its first major overview of trends in the eldercare sector noting the spread of private provision in some parts of Europe and the challenge to maintain adequate levels of public funding. A section of the report addresses employment issues, notably staffing levels, the education and training of staff and wages. There are examples of staffing ratios from eight countries and some indicators of pay (public and private) from seven countries and the study notes overall that personal carers' pay falls into to the bottom 40% of pay (two lowest quintiles).
EPSU’s Utilities Committee promotes just transition while condemning liberalisation
The concept of Just Transition was at the heart of the discussion at the EPSU’s Utilities Standing Committee where decarbonisation and digitalisation of the European economy were deeply debated amongst members.
Report from Working Group Social Services
The meeting primarily dealt with the topics "Challenges and impacts of the provision of social services by private providers", "New forms/models of care and their effects on the provision of services, their quality and the workforce", "EU-level standardisation in health and elderly care services" and "Promotion of social dialogue in the field of social services".
Cleaners, janitors, waste workers and civil servants take strike action
Public service workers across the UK have been involved in number of disputes over pay, jobs and safety. Waste workers in Birmingham and Doncaster are taking or planning action over pay and safety while cleaners at four hospitals in East London are continuting their campaign for a higher pay increase against outsourcing company Serco. Meanwhile in Sheffield members of the PCS civil service union are taking strike action in protest at the closure of a local Job Centre, part of a campaign against government proposals for closures across the country. Finally, janitors in schools across Glasgow
Agreement protects healthworkers' pay and conditions
Around 30000 workers employed by the health institutions federation in Vienna will see their pay and conditions protected following an agreement that removes the threat of privatisation. The deal will also mean higher starting salaries for new workers and a minimum wage of EUR 1670 a month. The younion representing the health workers regards this as a positive example of social partnership and a valuable contribution to social justice.