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PRESS RELEASE

COUNCIL LIES OVER PRIVATISATION EXPOSED BY UNITE THE UNION

Unite the Union has gathered evidence to show that Bromley Councillors have lied when they have stated that services and staff pay and conditions will be protected through its agenda of mass privatisation. The union has consistently asked for access to information which the Council claims is “commercially confidential”. The information in question relates to how companies will make savings while at the same time improving services. The Council discusses the matters in closed session at Council meetings and refers to the matters as “Part 2” items.

Unite Regional Officer Onay Kasab stated “The lie has been exposed by the reality of what is happening on the ground. During so called consultation, any potential cuts are hidden from public view – for instance, both GLL and Mears, who are taking over the library service and care for the elderly, have failed to say how they will run services for less money, while not making cuts and in fact improving the service. We have always known that this is because it is a lie – it is about cuts, plain and simple. These are just the latest examples and follow the privatisation of the parks service which led to immediate staff cuts. Conservative Councillors on Bromley Council are not just engaged in spin – this is a history of secrecy and lies and they should be ashamed of themselves”

The main argument used by the Council is that privatisation will not lead to a deterioration in services and that jobs, pay and conditions will be protected while efficiencies (savings) will be made. Unite has always argued that both the Council and private companies fail to show how services will be maintained and improved while so called efficiencies will be made. Unite has publicly stated that in reality, the Council are outsourcing cuts by handing services to private companies who will make the cuts while the Council distance themselves. We now have four clear examples that show Unite are right.

GSPLus
The contract for the Transport Service, a vital service for disabled people was awarded to GSPLus. The privatisation of the service was followed by a sharp increase in prices charged to service users. This led to many people no longer being able to afford to use it.

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL)
The Library service will be transferred to GLL in November. There will be an immediate cut of at least 31 staff as casual staff will not be part of the transfer. The service has significant vacancies – but even if these are filled by GLL after the transfer, they will be on the basis of much poorer GLL conditions. Just one example is that taking just one sick day with GLL leads to a cut in pay. Despite petitions and letters of protest, Conservative Councillor after Conservative Councillor denied this would be the case. Councillor Mary Cooke, when questioned about the negative consequences of outsourcing stated “There is no evidence of that. Quite the reverse”. Councillor Cooke also stated “We are proposing to outsource the libraries in order to protect jobs”. Councillor David Cartwright stated “staff will be transferred under the TUPE regulations protecting their terms and conditions” and that rather than staff cuts the savings would be achieved through being able to buy books for cheaper than at present. Councillor Morgan stated “I can confirm that GLL will keep the existing staff”.

Extra Care Housing
The service, looking after vulnerable elderly residents, has been awarded to Mears. There are vacancies and staff on fixed term contracts. While the staff on fixed term contracts will transfer over on current conditions, when the fixed term period ends and should the staff wish to apply for permanent posts, these will be on the poorer pay and conditions at Mears. The current vacancies are being advertised – on the poorer Mears pay and conditions. This is despite the fact that Mears management stated at meetings with Unite that employing staff to do the same job on varying pay and conditions would be “ridiculous” and a “recipe for disaster”.

Amey
The company have the cleaning contract for the Civic Centre. The level of service has got so bad that staff working in the offices have been doing their own cleaning. Following complaints it has come to light that the company, by their own admission, have been attempting to run the service without adequate staffing, without adequate supervision and without adequate supplies.

Sad state of affairs that people are forced to losing pay after their department is outsourced.

Who does capitalism work for?