In Place of Austerity

Public sector workers must work together to prevent privatisation

Dexter Whitfield calls on public managers to ally themselves with those opposed to privatisation, in order to protect democratic, flexible public services
Guardian Professional, Thursday 8th December 2011

The financial crisis has created opportunities to accelerate the privatisation and marketisation of public services - but the policies of transformation are designed to destablise services and deconstruct democracy.

We must draw on the lessons learned in opposing marketisation and privatisation over the past three decades to promote action strategies that can stop, slow down and/or mitigate the negative consequences of neoliberal policies.

Public managers committed to radically improving in-house provision will be important allies. More systematic trade union and community intervention in transformation and procurement is required, to organise new strategies, to forge strong alliances, to combine industrial and community action, and to advance alternative policies.

The financial consequences of market failure continue to take centre stage with drastic consequences for economies, services, jobs and living standards. However, neoliberal transformation of public services and the welfare state is accelerating apace, masked in part by the debt crisis ...

Full article available from The Guardian

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