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Quality Public Services

In co-operation with other global federations of unions, PSI has launched the Quality Public Services – Action Now! campaign. This campaign unites public and private sector trade unions, municipal governments and civil society groups in advancing quality public services as the best means of building equitable, sustainable, peaceful and democratic societies. We believe investment in quality public services backed by fair taxation policies is a key solution to the economic crisis.

50 years later, we still have a dream

24 June 2018

They call themselves the “Poor People’s Campaign”, a direct reference to the movement launched by Martin Luther King Jr. a few months before his assassination on 4 April 1968. The heart of the campaign was a mule-drawn procession from Marks, Mississippi, at that time the poorest town in the poorest State of the United States, eventually arriving in Washington. Today’s “Poor People’s Campaign” will also culminate in a national action at the US Capitol. It will be on 23 June, UN Public Service Day.

PSI General Secretary addresses the ILC Plenary

04 June 2018

The commitment of trade union members to build a better world is stronger than ever; as greater than ever are inequality and injustice, said PSI Secretary General, Rosa Pavanelli, when she addressed the Plenary of the International Labour Conference in Geneva.

Fighting for public services in the public interest

15 May 2018

What is at stake is not just protecting public companies in services deteriorating due to the current private sector management policies, but loudly demanding the refoundation of quality public service in the public interest, explains Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary.

Trade unions in India meet to counter free trade agenda

26 April 2018

Trade Unions representing workers in Information Technology (IT), Steel, Health-care, Water, Coal, Automotive, Transport, Banking and Insurance met in Bengaluru from 17-18 April for a National Workshop on Trade and Investment Liberalisation: Impacts on Workers in India. The workshop was organised by the Forum against FTAs, Public Services International (PSI), Third World Network (TWN) and Transnational Institute (TNI).

UNISON’s “Pay Up Now” Campaign’s strategy for better pay

20 March 2018
UNISON Pay Up Now campaign

After the UK’s 2017 general election, UNISON established its “Pay Up Now!” campaign, calling for the end of the public sector pay cap and the restoration of real terms pay rises for all public sector workers.

PSI Endorses Oxfam report: reward work, not wealth

22 January 2018

A new report released by Oxfam and endorsed by economist Jeffery Sachs and PSI, confirms that global inequality is spiraling out of control

Young workers academy in Nairobi

12 December 2017

Young workers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar, and Sweden met in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, to discuss issues surrounding Quality Public Services, Tax Justice and Gender Equality.

International Workers' Day - 1 May 2014

01 May 2014
Quality Public Services

The first of May symbolizes the struggle of the international labour movement. In 2014, International Workers’ Day, May Day, is as relevant as ever. Six years of austerity and neo-liberal policies washing over entire continents have left trade unions struggling for fundamental freedoms and rights at work all over again. Twenty-five years after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Iron Curtain, the world is engulfed in another ideological and economic battle. Public service workers from Canada to Paraguay, Algeria to Botswana, South Korea to Thailand and Turkey to Spain, are fighting for their rights and against anti-worker policies, often risking their lives.

Call for a Robin Hood Tax Now

05 September 2013

You can help send a message to European Union leaders that this tiny tax on banks is vital. It will curb harmful speculation while raising billions to end inequality. When the Robin Hood Tax is successfully adopted in the EU, it will show other nations how a small financial transactions tax can make a big difference.

PSI stands with Detroit and public workers

29 August 2013
Background image is part of a mural by Diego Rivera called Detroit Industry, North Wall at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Detroit is the largest city to file for bankruptcy in United States history. But it is not the only city in economic crisis, and what happens in Detroit matters—it matters to AFSCME members who have dedicated their working lives to providing quality public services to the city and community, it matters to workers and retirees across the United States and around the world, it matters to all public sector workers who we depend upon to provide quality public services to citizens around the world. Detroit matters to all of us and we stand in solidarity with the workers and retirees of the city.

Sign the Quality Public Services Charter

27 August 2013
Quality Public Services - Action Now

PSI invites you to join the world-wide campaigns for quality public services, the foundation of both free and equal societies, and a strong, modern economy.The common good must not be undermined by the desire of a few to increase their profits. We work to influence international organisations to put people first. And in local communities, rank and file union members deliver the same message.

23 June Public Services Day: A global tax justice movement to end inequality

23 June 2013

On 23 June, World Public Services Day, PSI stands with the world’s largest labour and non-governmental organisations in “putting world leaders on notice – members of civil society are uniting for tax justice everywhere.”



Public Services International leader Rosa Pavanelli says, “We are proud to be working at the forefront of the rapidly growing global movement to demand tax justice and accountability in public spending for the common good. Redistributing the wealth that workers help to create is not an option, it is an imperative.”

Your Future in Public Hands

14 May 2013
Green poster: Your Future in Public Hands

Public services are under attack and action is needed to ensure that in the future quality public services will be available to young and old, generating social justice and equality for all.

International Workers' Day - 1 May 2013

26 April 2013
PSI Poster for 1 May 2013

Your future is in public hands - quality public services for all!


The international labour movement celebrates 1 May in memory of the activists who were killed in the Haymarket massacre of 1886 while demonstrating for the eight-hour work day. Today, using the pretext of the economic and financial crises, neo-liberal forces around the world are determined to eliminate workers’ right to bargain collectively and hard-won social and labour rights. Workers and our communities are uniting to turn back the wave of measures being used to increase privatisation, claw back public spending, reduce the size and role of the state, and to attack social dialogue and collective bargaining in public sector workplaces.

A Financial Transactions Tax for the future we want

09 July 2012
Robin Hood Tax logo

Rio de Janeiro – 22 June 2012:

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, known as RIO+20, has taken place at a critical moment. The G20, meeting almost simultaneously, has not shown enough collective will by the world’s major economies to resolve the economic and financial turmoil we face. Member states of the European Union are facing a crucial test of their leadership in overcoming the financial and debt crisis. They are being called to choose whether or not to adopt a FTT for human and sustainable development. A positive answer could lead to a fairer and more sustainable future for the EU and contribute to sustainable human development worldwide.

Implementing the Right to Water in the green economy

21 March 2012
Demonstration at the alternative water forum

Water Justice activists, including PSI unions, have successfully pushed the human right to water and sanitation (RTW) onto the global agenda. The UN General Assembly Resolution 64/292 of 2010 has set the standard for government obligations in ensuring universal access. Many national campaigns insist that governments adopt RTW and implement universal access to water and sanitation. Unions are working with a broad range of allies at global, regional, national and local levels.

No to Austerity!

19 November 2011

Public services and public service workers are under pressure in almost all European countries with austerity measures affecting EPSU members directly. Collective bargaining, the autonomy of the social partners and social dialogue are under attack in many countries in the Euro-zone, in the EU and in other European countries.

Public ownership of the UK energy system – benefits, costs and processes

18 April 2016

A new report by Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) and the UK NGO We Own It, calls for a return to public ownership and management of key elements of the British energy system. The report builds on years of research that demonstrate the excess costs of privatization, the negative impact on energy workers and on UK households, and the distortions of UK energy policy.

Fair tax and quality public services delivery in Africa

09 September 2015

Resources that could be made available for the provision of public services have been drained out of the African continent but illicitly and “legally” through unfair taxation systems that multinational corporations exploit to the detriment and often with the support of African states.

Alliances for public services in South Africa

09 July 2014

The Municipal Services Project (MSP) is a research project that explores alternatives to the privatization and commercialization of service provision in electricity, health, water and sanitation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is composed of academics, labour unions, non-governmental organizations, social movements and activists from around the globe who are committed to analyzing successful alternative service delivery models to under- stand the conditions required for their sustainability and reproducibility.

With tax justice, we can end poverty and inequality

19 June 2014
PSI Korean affiliates KGEU at a protest rally in 2013

World Public Services Day - 23 June 2014

From the south to the north, Public Services International affiliate unions are working together across borders to end tax havens, tax avoidance and corruption, and to bring in progressive tax systems that are properly resourced and enforced. Tax justice enables public spending for the common good, and provides the means for economic self-sufficiency for municipal, regional and national governments.

Annual Report 2013

18 June 2014

This report covers the first year of PSI’s work to implement the comprehensive five year plan adopted by delegates to the 2012 PSI Congress in Durban, South Africa. In the context of very difficult times for public services unions, our delegates laid plans to work for alternatives to privatisation, promote quality public services, fight inequality, and strengthen the trade union movement.

Working for the many - public services fight inequality

07 April 2014

The UK-based NGO Oxfam has published a 26-page booklet "Working for the many," that calls on governments to urgently reform tax systems and increase public spending on free public services, such as health and education, to tackle inequality and prevent us being tipped irrevocably into a world that works for the few, not the many.

The tragedy of the private, the potential of the public

17 March 2014
Man dressed as clown holding banner against water privatisation

This new booklet co-published by Public Services international and the Transnational Institute surveys anti-privatisation campaigns by PSI affiliates around the world. From South Africa to Brazil, from Italy to the US, in Uruguay, Greece, Norway, the UK and in many other countries, municipal councils are taking services back under public control.

After Yolanda: Government employees are also human beings

11 March 2014

Four months after Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as it's known in the Phlippines, PSI affiliate in the Philippines, PSLINK, has put together a photo report of the effects Yolanda has had on the population and more specifically on the lives of public sector workers.

Resolution 8: Demanding Standards and Quality in Health Care Provision

31 January 2014

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

Resolution 5: Common Good – Common Wealth Framework

31 January 2014

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

Resolution 29: Ensure the common good with public services and a social protection floor

31 January 2014

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

Resolution 6: Security at Work

31 January 2014

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

Resolution 12: Educating and Mobilizing Workers and the Public in Support of Fair Tax Systems to Fund High-Quality Public Services

30 January 2014

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

Asia Pacific News Bulletin 2013

30 December 2013

Asia Pacific news is published and electronically distributed five times a year by Public Services International Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation (PSI APRO).

Communiqué: Public Services International Steering Committee SC-17

25 November 2013
PSI Steering Committee and staff, November 2013

Angered by the continuing attacks on public services and the workers who provide these services, distressed by the rising inequality across the world and the failure of the current economic system to provide jobs, particularly for young people, the Steering Committee reiterated its commitments to the 2013-2017 Programme of Action “Social Justice through Quality Public Services” and endorsed priority actions for 2014.

Promoting prosperity for all (Anguilla)

25 July 2017

PSI is collaborating with the Caribbean Public Services Association (CPSA) in a series of presentations and discussions on the role of the public sector in the economic development of the Caribbean. CPSA’s affiliates – many of whom are also affiliates of the CPSA - are meeting in Anguilla from 26-28 July for their 47th annual conference.

Regional Executive Committee for Inter-Americas - IAMREC (Rio de Janeiro)

06 March 2017

The meeting of the Inter-American Regional Executive Committee (IAMREC) of PSI was held on 23 and 24 March, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The participants from across the region discussed many issues related to the political situation and to the organization.

PSI 30th World Congress

25 October 2016

PSI’s 30th World Congress will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from Monday 30th October to Friday 3 November 2017, at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG).

PrepCom3 on Habitat III

20 July 2016
PSI side event at PrepCom3

On 26 July, during the third session of the Preparatory Committee of the Habitat III Conference, PSI is organising with ICRICT and PSIRU a side event called “Financing and investing in urban public services: The key to inclusive cities”. PrepCom3 will be held in Surabaya, Indonesia, from 25-27 July at the Convention and Exhibition Hall Grand City Convex Surabaya.

IAMREC 2016 (Puerto Rico)

09 March 2016

On March 29th, 30th and 31st, the IAMREC 2016 was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. See here all the information and documents related to the meeting.

2016 Caribbean SUBRAC meeting

15 February 2016

The Caribbean Sub-regional Advisory Committee (SUBRAC) meets annually. The SUBRAC is a PSI advisory body comprising representatives from affiliates who “facilitate the consultation process at sub-regional level on policy issues and work programme implementation, and who participate in exchange and dialogue on issues relevant to PSI affiliates.”

Bachelet calls on PSI to fight for an ILO resolution on the elimination of violence against women at work

01 November 2014
Mujeres de la ISP el “Encuentro Internacional sobre Violencia de Género en los lugares de trabajo y el empleo público”

Before an audience of more than 140 women members of the PSI, the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, called on the organisation to continue fighting for approval of an ILO resolution on the elimination of violence against women at the workplace and in public employment.

PSI participates in ILO meeting in Peru

15 October 2014
Part of PSI delegation members

PSI has just taken part, with a delegation of 48 members, in the 18th American Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) held in the capital of Peru, Lima, from 13-16 October.

Forum on decent work and quality public services

08 July 2014

This event will be held in Asuncion, Paraguay on 23 July 2014. It is a tripartite forum with Government, unions and PSI where the campaign will be presented and working groups on financing public services will be established.



QPS Workshop, Japan

04 June 2014

PSI Japanese Council (JC) organises a seminar on Quality Publication Services on 4-5 June 2014, Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall, Japan

Putting public in public services: Research, action and equity in the Global South

18 March 2014
Municiapl Serivces Project logo

The international conference Putting public in public services: Research, action and equity in the Global South, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, on 13-16 April 2014, will bring together progressive academics and NGOs who work closely with PSI and our affiliates on a range of public services.

PSI Asia Pacific Regional Forum on Quality Public Services

07 October 2013
QPS logo

PSI’s Asia Pacific Regional Office is hosting a forum on quality public services on 16-18 October 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. The forum will highlight discussion on the priority public services issues of the region, evaluating union strengths and strategies to take the issues to a further level.

World Day for Decent Work 2013

03 October 2013

On 7 October we celebrate the World Day for Decent Work. Public Services International (PSI) joins the international trade union movement in demanding decent work for all and an end to the continuous attacks on trade union rights around the world. We want jobs that provide decent salaries and social security with safe working conditions.

Video: Unions in Latin America are fighting for trade union rights and quality public services

29 May 2015

Representatives of PSI affiliates met in Geneva on 27-28 May 2015 for the PSI Executive Board meeting. In this interview, Omar Autón, Unión del Personal Civil de la Nación, Argentina, describes the situation in Latin America. Unions are fighting for trade union rights, the right to strike, unionization, collective bargaining, and to obtain quality public services. The video is in Spanish.

David Boys speaks at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, 16 March 2015

27 March 2015

PSI Deputy General Secretary David Boys spoke at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan, on 16 March.

Video: The fightback against austerity

07 July 2014

Public Services International (PSI), the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), together with our affiliate unions, ADEDY, and allies in Greece brought together a team of expert union journalists and communicators. This solidarity exchange enabled PSI communicators from other countries to learn more about the issues facing Greek trade unionists and share this understanding with their union members and communities around the world.

Audio: A RadioLabour interview with Rosa Pavanelli on World Public Services Day

23 June 2014

Monday June 23: World Public Services Day. All around the world governments are attacking public services and the workers who help supply them. As well, a number of international trade agreements are jeopardizing the right of governments to provide public services instead of corporations.

Giant squirrel + ground beef = sick!

15 December 2011

This time, meat inspection is being ransacked. Canadians rely on people like meat inspectors to ensure the food we buy is safe to eat. If you knew inspections were about to be compromised by budget cuts...wouldn't you do something about it?