Quality public services

The Dutch Parliament voted for an amendment by the Socialist Party to stop the contribution to the PPIAF, a fairly modest 1.2 million euros, but symbolically important.

Public Services International sent a letter to Pakistani trade unions on 20 December 2011 strongly supporting the national mobilisation against privatisation of the electricity sector. Experience shows that electricity privatisation is a disaster for almost all involved, except perhaps a very few who manage to squeeze profits from rising tariffs, reduced wages, increased outsourcing and precarious labour, and other unethical practices.

The giant squirrel strikes again! The Public Service Alliance of Canada has launched another video as part of its Third Choice campaign. In this one, a giant squirrel disrupts a meat inspector and secretly plants non-inspected meat in a young mother's grocery cart. It's designed to highlight the absurdity of forcing Canadians to choose between eliminating the deficit and having food properly inspected.

ThirdChoice.ca says forcing Canadians to choose between a strong economy and strong public services is absurd. Join the campaign.

On Wednesday 30 November, public sector workers all over Europe are protesting against austerity measures following a call for action by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU). In the UK, 2 million workers are taking part in the public sector unions’ pension strike. Trade unionists in Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece and other European countries are organising a national day of action on 30 November.

In the context of the current financial and economic crisis, education unions have been asked to accept severe cutbacks and austerity measures on the basis that there is no more money available for public services.

In the United Kingdom (UK), technical changes in pension plan design will cut 25 percent from the lifetime value of a pension, some teachers losing more than £50,000 in the value of their pension over a 20-year period. Union research has highlighted that people with the lowest levels of qualifications were most likely to suffer from a cocktail of the Conservative government’s policies. It argues these policies will restrict access to education for both young people and adults, e.g. the axing of education maintenance allowances for teenagers; the tripling of university tuition fees; and, the introduction of fees and loans for working adults who want to retrain.
In reality, the money is available!

The Executive Board of Public Services International (PSI), meeting in Geneva on 23-25 November, extends its unequivocal support to PSI affiliates in the UK as they take action on 30 November in defence of fair pensions for all.