Marketisation
The introduction of market forces into the public sector has put profit above quality and is undermining the public service ethos which is based on equity, fairness and redistribution of wealth. Privatisation and marketisation have transformed the provision of services, creating a shift from collaborative working to a commercial competitive working environment, where private contractors compete for public sector work. This transformation has had an impact on the quality of services and on the pay and conditions of public service workers, many of whom have been transferred from the public sector to the private, voluntary or independent sectors, on worse terms and conditions.The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a government initiative which allows the private sector to design, finance, build, own and operate public buildings.
The Two Tier workforce and Fair Wages - UNISON is campaigning to stop private contractors competing on the basis of lower pay and conditions
The National Health Service is shifting from an integrated system to a much more mixed one, in which the private sector plays an increasingly major part.
Social Care is increasingly being outsourced to the private sector to cut costs, leading to fragmentation of services and impacting on the quality of care
Library services - UNISON is concerned that policy changes in library services will lead to privatisation, impacting on jobs, pay and quality of service.
Social housing - currently, the only investment options to improve housing stock involve privatisation or part privatisation of stock or the service
Probation - current plans threaten services which will be subject to market testing and ultimately lead to the privatisation of probation services.
The Community and Voluntary sector is being encouraged by the government to compete with other organisations for public service work.
