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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

Why Public-Private Partnerships don’t work

17 March 2015
Drinking from tap

Public Services International (PSI) has just released the new report “Why Public-Private Partnerships don’t work: The many advantages of the public alternative”.

Press release: Why Public-Private Partnerships don't work

16 March 2015
Worker

The report “Why Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) don’t work” by Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) assesses the PPPs experience in countries both rich and poor.

São Paulo to run out of water within two months

06 February 2015
Cantareira. Photo: Mídia NINJA - Creative Commons

If the most realistic predictions prove to be accurate, around 6 million people out of São Paulo's 20 million residents will face drastic water rationing this coming April. For five days out of seven they will have no water at all coming out of their taps.

The eve of de-privatization of water services in Jakarta

19 January 2015
Jakarta water privatisation

PSI, Transnational Institute, Amrta Institute for Water Literacy and Jakarta Water Trade Union have published a series of four fact-sheets that outline how and why water privatisation failed and the potential for a renewed effective public service.

COP20: The public option in green policies

09 December 2014
Windmills - Photo: Pablo LordFerguson (Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

As the UN Climate Change Summit, COP20, in Lima, Peru, draws to an end, PSI highlights the special role of local and national government structures in developing, implementing and monitoring green policies.

Government of Peru tries to silence union leader

02 December 2014
Luis Isarra - FENTAP General Secretary

PSI is urgently calling for letters of protest to be sent to the Peruvian Minister of Labour in support of Luis Isarra (FENTAP General Secretary) whose permanent union leave has been abrogated by the Peruvian Government. This takes place just before COP20 when Luis Isarra is responsible for coordinating Peru's labour movement mobilisation for the summit.

Water remunicipalisation as a global trend

13 November 2014
water fountain

Over the last 15 years, more than 180 cities and communities in 35 countries have taken back control of their water services, new study reveals.

Jakarta Water Negotiations hit impasse because of legal challenge

21 October 2014

The remunicipalisation process for Jakarta water utilities is awaiting the outcome of a court decision wherein a number of local groups have challenged the legitimacy of the original concessions awarded over ten years ago. The outcome could determine whether the city could avoid to pay huge sums to buy out the remaining years of the concession contracts.

Water in Uruguay: new challenges

21 October 2014
Mesa redonda

Overall, a positive assessment, but “there are many challenges ahead”. This was the conclusion reached by the panel of speakers at a round-table discussion entitled “Ten years After Constitutional Reform in Defence of Water”, organised by the National Commission in Defence of Water and Life (CNDAV) on 9 October, at the offices of the union centre, PIT-CNT.

The work of the ants: Labour and community reinventing public water in Colombia

15 October 2014

Water services in Colombia’s rural and peri-urban areas have traditionally been delivered by a rich variety of autonomous community-owned aqueducts. This action-research project documents the struggles of one such community to preserve and reinforce its aqueduct as an alternative to both private and ‘state’ modes of service delivery.

Uruguay celebrates ten years of constitutional reform in defence of water

10 October 2014
Por el agua

On 9 October, the people of Uruguay celebrated the tenth anniversary of the victorious referendum in defence of water that forced a change to the constitution. Amendments to the constitution recognised water as a basic human right and made it impossible to privatise water resources and services.

Putting water back into public hands

18 September 2014
Remunicipalisation

A new major trend has emerged as more and more communities insist on returning water and wastewater services to public management through remunicipalisation. The Water Remunicipalisation Tracker website continues to expand with four new cases of remunicipalisation.

Answering the challenge of water supply in Jakarta

08 September 2014
Water symposium Jakarta

The national symposium entitled “Answering the challenge of water supply in Jakarta” was held on 4 September 2014 in Al Azhar University in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event was organised by the student executive body of the Law Faculty of Al Azhar University and was attended by 147 participants including students from six universities in Jakarta.

India: Core labour standards not implemented in ADB funded projects

02 September 2014
India - Sewage treatment plant, Kavoor, Mangalore, India. Photo: ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Handbook on Core Labour Standards 2005, committed to comply with the internationally recognized core labour standards (CLS) and related labour laws in the design, formulation and operation of its loans to the developing countries. However the workers in the projects have identified union busting, harassment or physical violence against unions and discrimination and dismissals and other work-related anti-union/worker actions etc. in the projects and the compliance according to the CLS handbook is not strictly observed.

Two-month UWUA strike defeats subcontracting attack

20 August 2014

Local 537 of the Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (UWUA) marked an important win after ratifying a new labour agreement with Pennsylvania-American Water. The new agreement brings nearly 150 workers back off strike and turns back management demands to eliminate long-standing protections against subcontracting.