UK unions vote to kill off public/private initiatives

The UK Trade Union Congress (TUC) has voted to call for an end to private finance initiatives (PFI) and public-private partnerships (PPP).

The TUC General Council's statement on the subject was carried following a debate yesterday afternoon. A TUC spokesman said that although individual unions are free to take differing views, from here forward the TUC is opposed to PFIs and PPPs.

The Council's statement notes that the UK government's reliance on PFIs has doubled in the last year and is expected to rise. "The PFI should not be relied on to underpin the renewal of the nation's infrastructure? Greater public investment is urgently needed for better public services and the government should be willing to divert resources to this."

The public sector union, Unison, also opposes the PFI. A spokeswoman for Unison said, "We don't think it's in the best interest of the public sector. It's more efficient and cheaper to borrow money in the public sector."

One objection to private money is the risk to public sector jobs, not just from job losses but from decreased security and a lowered standard of benefits.

Mike Buhagiar, senior marketing manager for BT government accounts, said the vote cuts right across what the government is trying to achieve. "The whole concept is to share the risk and to help deliver the best services," he said. "I can understand where they're coming from, but I'm not sure this is the most cost-effective way."