09 August 2002
At next month's TUC annual conference, Unison and the GMB will demand an end to the PFI projects used to build hospitals and schools and a rethink over the use of private firms to treat NHS patients.
Union motions published this week revealed that other key issues for discussion include the growth of the two-tier workforce, public sector pay, declining public access to services and the prudent use of promised NHS funding.
The prime minister is expected to address this year's conference. He was saved from a confrontation with unions last year after news of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US broke during the conference.
One senior union source told Public Finance: 'This year he will have to face the full wrath of the unions and the growing discontent over public services.'
Mike Terry, professor of industrial relations at Warwick Business School, said: 'This is a potentially explosive conference. Tony Blair will have to be seen to be addressing some of the unions' concerns in order to keep them "onside" if he is going to pursue a referendum on the euro in the next couple of years.
'But there is genuine discontent among the public sector unions, allied with growing public suspicion of the PFI project. Blair's appearance is likely to throw up more questions than it answers.'
One Unison motion this year calls on the TUC to 'oppose PFI and privatisation of public services and promote alternative ways of financing public investment'. Another calls on the government to investigate the role of the 'big four' auditing firms in PFI contracts, following concerns that they hold conflicting advisory roles for public and private bodies.
A spokeswoman for Unison said: 'We believe these companies are running the government's privatisation agenda and benefiting from massive fees as advisers and auditors. There has to be a very large question mark over the independence and impartiality of the advice these firms are giving on PFI and PPP.'
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