- Conference
- 2003 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 25 February 2003
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
The UK Government has committed to a course of privatisation of public services and the Treasury has also exerted pressure on devolved governments to follow suit. As a consequence the future of public services, our members who deliver them and the public who need them is in serious jeopardy.
Conference notes that UNISON has been campaigning on issues of privatisation, PFI, PPP and other threats to public services since its inception.
Conference notes the successful resolution passed by the 2002 Labour Party Conference calling for an independent review of the Private Finance Initiative.
Conference notes the hard word that was put in to produce this successful resolution by UNISON’s Labour Party Conference delegation and the rest of UNISON’s APF.
Conference also notes with dismay however, that Labour front benchers, notably Gordon Brown immediately said that they would not be taking any notice of the resolution. The reason put forward in interviews following the debate by Gordon Brown that that the Labour Government had a mandate from the people of Britain to continue with PFI.
Conference rejects the idea that the majority of people in the country approve of privatisation. Conference notes that opinion polls commissioned by UNISON show overwhelming opposition to PFI and other forms of privatisation.
Conference believes that our experience in the workplace shows that privatisation is expensive, is detrimental to service delivery and creates great inequalities in working conditions for staff. It is bad for workers, bad for tax payers and bad for service users.
In response, Conference commits to extending its campaigning strategy on this issue by launching a strategic anti-privatisation plan co-ordinated through the National Executive Council and supported by all structures in the union’s democracy. This should be a campaigning plan which focuses on:
1)restoring the rights of already privatised members;
2)protecting the rights of those facing privatisation, particularly from Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) and Private Finance Initiative;
3)preventing further privatisation; and reversing privatisations that have already occurred, and;
4)challenging Government and the public sector to restore and protect the rights of the most disadvantaged groups and communities in our society whose access to services is adversely affected.
The campaign should be synchronized in partnership between the national centre, regions, branches and workplaces. It should include:
a)the allocation of resources to organise, raise awareness and secure the involvement of UNISON members;
b)the production of high quality research similar to the work already undertaken on PFI;
c)working together with the Affiliated Political Fund and the General Political Fund to expose the gap between the actions of the Labour Government and the wishes of the majority of Labour Party members and levy payers;
d)co-ordinated strategic negotiations with employers/government departments employing the most successful strategies arising from our anti-CCT/market testing campaigns;
e)high profile publicity campaigns involving our members and the general public;
f)the use of strategic legal action employing domestic and international equality and human rights tools;
g)the use of strategic and lawful industrial action focused defending jobs, pay and conditions of service and on challenging inequality and discrimination;
h)the strategic use of international solidarity where appropriate to underpin specific anti-privatisation campaigns; and
i)co-ordination, where relevant, through the TUC, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, STUC and Wales TUC to maximise support.
Conference calls on the Affiliated Political Fund to consider using its political and financial influence inside the Labour Party to press UNISON’s position on this vital question, including consideration of withdrawal of donations for election campaigning or in support of campaigns for candidates who do not support UNISON’s anti-privatisation campaign.
Conference believes that this renewed anti-privatisation drive should build on the existing priority campaign, Positively Public, and that the National Executive Council should continue to develop a range of initiatives that involve members in every branch and region, including:
i)national campaigning that includes building on the new code of practice on the two-tier workforce in English local government and the Scottish protocol by spreading and enhancing them as quickly as possible across the public services;
ii)a major presence at national conferences, especially the 2003 TUC and Labour Party conferences;
iii)highlighting private sector and PFI failures, the role of the accountancy firms and advisors and sharing this with members in an easy to use format;
iv)working with the Health Service Group in opposing foundation hospitals and the return of the internal market;
v)joint work with political funds by helping branches make successful campaign bids to the GPF and working with Labour Link to make an impact at regional and local Labour Party conferences and policy forums;
vi)assistance to UNISON Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland to influence the new devolved administrations taking office and encourage their deviation from the English model of inspection, league tables, competition and privatisation;
vii)working with regions to make an impact at regional events, festivals, shows and conferences;
viii)working with self-organised groups and service groups to complement their existing priorities and campaigns;
ix)a campaign to highlight the dangers inherent in the negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
x)a new progressive European procurement directive;
xi)keeping branches informed with monthly briefings and supplying them with the tools to get local publicity;
xii)sharing successful examples of local campaigns with existing private contractors and model TUPE plus agreements;
xiii)working with other public service unions;
xiv)encouraging a change agenda that is led by existing front line staff and collecting examples of good practice;
xv)developing guidance for branches on third way solutions being increasingly proposed, such as public interest companies, co-operatives, mutuals, trusts and foundation hospitals.