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Public sector pay and procurement strategies during austerityConference Manchester Business School and EC

Panel: Perspectives from European social partners & policy experts

Key documents: http://www.epsu.org/a/725

EPSU- European Federation of Public Service Unions •8 million members, 68% of whom are women, in more than 275 trade unions in 49 countries• Organises in health and social services, local and regional government, national and European administration and utilities (energy, water, waste)•social partner in 5 sectoral social dialogue committees –– hospitals, –electricity, –gas, –local and regional government– central government administrations

• Member of ETUC, involved in cross sectoral social dialogue• member of PSI – Public Services International

Key points• EU 20/20 strategy supposed to be “ smart, sustainable, inclusive growth” but coordinated Eusterity that has led to recession•Public sector workers – “the wrong target”• Can’t dissociate quality of employment from quality of services• Lack of planning, transparency and impact assessment in “reforms” (cuts and restructuring)• Impact on gender equality• Breakdown of social dialogue incl. collective bargaining at national level , increase of low pay, undermining of public sector as a good employer• Role of EU institutions and/or Troika, implications of economic governance for public sector wages and other working conditions•Trade union actions and alternative policies• Exposing the scale and consequences of cuts for workers and citizens• Promoting alternative economics and policies • Role of EU sectoral social dialogue including collective bargaining

Social partners in central, local and regional governments

• EPSU-led TUNED and EUPAE in central government social dialogue committee (CGA) set up in December 2010

• EPSU and CEMR in local and regional government (LRG) social dialogue committee set up in 2004

• Statements on the crisis to EU institutions incl. importance of sustainable public funding

• Response to EC Green Paper on restructuring, March 2012• Critical of lack of social dialogue, focus on consequences of

restructuring including impact on gender equality• more difficult to agree on nature of change• Image and attractivity of central government administrations –

agreement on values of public services, serving the general interest and trade union rights

• Role of collective bargaining in EU economic governance?