Privatisation and the Two Tier Workforce

Back to all Motions

Conference
2003 National Women's Conference
Date
24 October 2002
Decision
Carried as Amended

Conference supports UNISON’s committment to well funded publicly owned, publicly controlled and democratically accountable public services and notes our opposition to privatisation (Positively Public Campaign).

Conference notes UNISON’s ongoing campaign to put an end to the two tier workforce which results when private contractors employ new staff on different contracts, usually on far worse terms and conditions, to existing staff with TUPE protection.

The worst affected are usually low paid women working part time in cleaning, catering and care jobs.

In fact, an impact assessment carried out on the plans to privatise all elderly residential homes in Birmingham highlighted that these plans would disproportionately affect women and in particular black and minority ethnic women

In July the Government published a consultation paper on its review of the ‘Best Value’ arrangements governing the contracting-out of local services. The key element of the review is a draft code of practice which is designed to protect the terms and conditions of new recruits working on local government contracts alongside transferred staff.

UNISON welcomes this review from the Government but, we will continue to campaign for a change in legislation to ensure the protection of terms and conditions is extended to all workers in a contracted out public service.

Conference calls on the National Women’s Committee to work with the service groups to:

1)Continue to campaign against the two tier workforce and for a ‘fair wages’ clause in public contracting;

2)Collect evidence on how UNISON’s women members are disproportionately affected by privatisation in particular black and minority ethnic women, and add the findings to the Positively Public Campaign materials;

3)Press for the new Local Government Pay Commission to tackle the issue of privatisation and the two tier workforce and seek to identify opportunities within the other service groups for similar challenges including Agenda for Change in the NHS;

4)Campaign for public authorities to have the freedom to insist their equal opportunities policies are followed by private contractors;

5)Campaign for a requirement on all private contractors to demonstrate that they have carried out equal pay audits;

6)Press for the Equal Opportunities Commission to update its research on the gender impact of CCT, to include all forms of privatisation.