Received from: PCS
Congress notes that outsourcing and privatisation have driven down pay, pensions, terms and conditions, decimated public services and created a two-tier workforce, while allowing private companies to profit from public money.
Congress deplores the catastrophic impact of privatisation of the administration of civil service pensions, with Capita now leaving pensioners without payments, and workers delaying retirement through fear of being left without pensions.
Congress demands cessation of the government’s continued contracting out to private companies like Capita, who profit while delivering abysmal services, terrible working conditions and pay.
Congress believes that publicly funded services should be publicly delivered. Insourcing improves accountability, service quality, recruitment and retention, strengthens collective bargaining, and ensures public money is invested in services and workers rather than shareholder profit.
Congress calls on the TUC to place demands on the Burnham government to:
i. bring utilities and services back into a well-funded public sector – including railways, energy, mail as well as civil service pension administration and all outsourced government contracts
ii. transfer outsourced workers into direct public sector employment with protection of pay, pensions, continuity of service, trade union recognition and terms and conditions
iii. remove legislative, financial and procurement barriers that prevent public bodies bringing services back in-house
iv. ensure that restructuring of public services protects workers and is undertaken only with the consent of the impacted workers and their trade unions
v. strengthen trade union rights including repeal of all anti-union legislation, restoration of collective bargaining and an end to fire and rehire.
Public and Commercial Services Union
AMENDMENT
Add new bullet point:
vi. ensure firefighter and public safety is not delivered for profit. Bring the Fire Service College and BRE into public ownership, insource all control rooms, appliances and other fire and rescue assets, and make the new College of Fire and Rescue publicly owned and funded, with democratic governance.
Fire Brigades Union