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Water and sanitation

Clean water and sanitation – recently recognised by the United Nations as basic human rights – are critical to good health. They help prevent disease. Yet billions of people have no ready access to safe water. It is an essential service that governments must provide to protect their citizens and serve their common good. Read more here

6th World Water Forum and Alternative Water Forum

08 March 2012
Alternative water forum logo

Unions from 30 countries will gather in Marseille, France to express loud and clear their concerns about water policies.  The occasion is the triennial World Water Forum –WWF6, a corporate tradeshow which masquerades as a global policy arena.  The water forum was the brainchild of the French multinational corporations Veolia and Suez, in cahoots with the World Bank, created back when privatisation was the only solution for getting water to poor people in developing countries.  Now, the gloss is off the rose, and only the sharp spines are left.

The PSI messages at WWF6 include:

Keep Nestlé out of universities, says civil society

06 March 2012

Following a decision by the University of Alberta to grant an honorary agree to Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, former executive direction and current chairman of Nestlé, a group of over seventy civil society organisations, including PSI, has sent a letter of protest to the University.

Water and sanitation are a human right

15 February 2012
Water is a human right logo

On 1 April the first European Citizens’ Initiative on water will be launched by a Citizens Committee fully supported by the European Federation of Public Service Unions. In all European countries our affiliated unions with its civil society allies are preparing for a campaign to promote implementation of the human right to water and sanitation.

Antitrust: Commission opens proceedings against companies in French water sector

27 January 2012
Water Drop

The European Commission has opened formal antitrust proceedings to investigate whether the French companies SAUR, Suez Environnement/Lyonnaise des Eaux and Veolia, together with their trade association Fédération Professionnelle des Entreprises de l'Eau ("FP2E"), have coordinated their behaviour on French water and waste water markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules. The opening of proceedings means that the Commission will treat the case as a matter of priority. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

National Labor Relations Board Issues Nationwide Complaint against American Water

11 January 2012

Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) fights for $4 million in back pay for workers.

Private desires, public fears

02 January 2012

Asian Development Bank’s new plan insists on the private sector answer to water woes.

Sanitation in Senegal: “High time to move from words to action”

21 November 2011

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, warned on 21 November 2011 that the Government of Senegal has failed to invest adequately in Sanitation.

Peru: FENTAP challenges corrupt practices at water utility

21 November 2011

PSI award-winning affiliate FENTAP has challenged the management of the water utility Empresa EPSEL S.A. (Empresa Prestadora de Servicios de Saneamiento de Lambayeque) to justify a number of decisions, including possible nepotism in hiring as well as improprieties in contracting and purchasing.

“Stop flushing your rights away, invest in sanitation,” says UN expert on World Toilet Day

20 November 2011

United Nations expert on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque today called on States to devote more resources to sanitation, to use existing ones more effectively, and to begin treating adequate access to toilets as a human right with serious implications for the enjoyment of other fundamental rights.

Bankable versus taxable

04 November 2011
WOP Conference - Each one teach one

Interview with David Boys (Public Services International and appointed to the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation - UNSGAB) at the Water Operators' Partnerships conference in Amsterdam, 2 November 2011. He talks about the investment issue in public services by looking at bankable versus taxable solutions. He also talks about the impact of procurement for the public water utilities.

Ecuador: Violations of rights and contract provisions in the water sector

01 November 2011

Ecuador citizens’ movement oversight committee recommends full scale inquiry into the violations of rights and contract provisions by the private operator of Guayaquil water and sanitation, a company jointly owned by Bechtel of USA and Edison Spa of Italy.

How privatisation undermines the human right to water

15 October 2011

Recent analysis published by Food & Water Europe shows that poor, rural communities with weak governments can better deliver safe, clean, affordable water to their residents by partnering with one another.

Jakarta water privatization

10 September 2011

Trade unions, NGOs and the community demonstrated at Jakarta City Hall, calling for an end to water privatization in Jakarta. Protesters warned that the privatization has failed to give Jakarta citizens a reliable, easy and affordable piped-water service.

The Way Forward - Voices from the Global Water Operator Partnership Alliance

22 March 2011

Delegations from Reclaiming Public Water Network and Public Services International participated in the Global Water Operator Partnerships (GWOPA) Congress held on 20-21 March in Cape Town, South Africa. The video features unionists, activists as well as public water managers from Spain, Morocco, Netherlands and Uruguay who present their vision for Public Public Partnerships in the water sector.