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Local and Regional Government/Municipal sector

Local and regional governments (LRG)/municipal sector workers run essential services in cities, metropolitan areas and territories servicing millions of people and communities every day. Our members work in public administrations; public utilities such as water and sanitation, electricity, and solid waste. They operate public transport and maintain public spaces; work in social, culture and education services such as libraries, museums, kindergartens, schools and universities. They are health and social services workers. Firefighters, emergency, medical first responders and municipal police are also among LRG/municipal workers. PSI defends and promotes the union and labour rights of LRG/municipal workers and advocates their decent working and living conditions so that they can sustainably deliver accessible, quality public services to the local communities and territories they serve and successfully confront the many challenges posed by rapid urbanization and globalization. Join the discussion on PSI's LRG/Municipal Workers Facebook Group.

Swiss local government workers strike twice to defend quality public services and equal conditions

19 December 2017

Over 2,000 public sector workers of the Geneva Canton (Switzerland) went on strike on 14 December 2017 and gathered below the ancient walls of the Calvinist city letting their local government (Conseil d’Etat) know: “We are back and here to stay!”.

Municipal workers: the invisible, underpaid people who run our cities

31 October 2017

Millions of staff clean our streets and keep our cities moving. It’s time to recognise their contribution to the everyday fabric of our urban lives

World Cities Day 2017: Municipal workers make cities happen!

25 October 2017

PSI has chosen 31 October – UN “World Cities Day” - to launch a global visual campaign aimed at raising awareness about the work of municipal public service professionals with a view to increasing their visibility and presenting a positive perception of the many essential public services they deliver every day to cities and metropolitan areas.

Twenty young African trade unions leaders gathered in Abuja to discuss remunicipalisation

16 October 2017

Twenty young workers, representing 16 trade unions from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria, met in Abuja on 11-12 September to attend a workshop sponsored by IMPACT and Kommunal about the remunicipalisation of public services.

Women municipal workers in Brazil and the Southern Cone meet to bridge gender gap in the sector

26 September 2017

For the first time since the launch of the PSI Confederation of Municipal Workers’ Unions of the Americas (CONTRAM-PSI), more than 60 municipal sector trade unionists met in Asuncion, Paraguay, on 7 September, to discuss the labour and trade union situation of women workers in the sector.

Localizing the SDGs: local and regional governments actions for poverty eradication and prosperity

17 July 2017

PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, spoke at the recent UCLG/GTF side-event at the UN High-level political forum on sustainable development emphasizing that "taxation is a key lever to beat inequality, ensure socio-economic inclusion and the SDGs".

PPP: Corporations divert UN agenda, claims civil society report

13 July 2017

New York, 13 July 2017: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), usually portrayed as a useful tool towards sustainable development, actually “involve disproportionate risks and costs for people and the public purse”, claims a global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions in the Spotlight Report 2017 launched earlier this week.

Resolution 14: The global fight-back against austerity

30 November 2012

The 29th World Congress of Public Services International (PSI), meeting in Durban, South Africa, on 27-30 November 2012

Resolution 13: Taxation

30 November 2012

The 29th World Congress of Public Services International (PSI), meeting in Durban, South Africa, on 27-30 November 2012

Resolution 3: Building a disaster-resilient society through the enhancement of public services

30 November 2012

The 29th World Congress of Public Services International (PSI), meeting in Durban, South Africa, on 27-30 November 2012

Re-municipalising municipal services in Europe

27 August 2012

Privatisation, contracting out and outsourcing have been the dominant trends in public services. Now there is increasing evidence of trends in the opposite direction, according to a report from EPSU.

Private government "with" public money? Municipal corporations and local utilities in six Italian regions

30 July 2012

Since the early 1990s, in Italy the corporatization of public bodies has become a prominent phenomenon, especially at the local level and in the domain of public utilities. In the context of a very fragmented and somewhat contradictory national legislative framework, the number of Italian municipal corporations has recently passed 5000 units, and represents a complex puzzle of diverse governance models and ownership structures.

City of Bergkamen: Powerpoint presentation

30 May 2012

A powerpoint presentation on the city of Bergkamen by Roland Schäfer Mayor of the City of Bergkamen, President of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities and Vice-President of the Confederation of Towns and Municipalities of the European Union, at the EPSU Annual Conference Local and Regional Government in May 2012.

Presentation of the PSIRU report "Re-municipalisation of public services in Europe"

30 August 2011

A presentation by Dave Hall, PSIRU on the re-municipalisation of public services in Europe.