Defending universally-accessible quality public services:

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Defending universally-accessible quality public
services a central challenge for municipal
workers unions La defensa de los servicios
publicos de calidad para todos un desafio
central para los sindicatos de empleados
municipales Jorge R. Mancillas Health and
Municipal Services Officer Responsable de salud
y municipales Oslo, Norway 26 November,
2008
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Public services improved quality and length of
life

• For the last 100 years, unions and political
  organizations of workers
• Fought for and improved key determinants of
  health
• Better incomes better living and working
  conditions
• Fought for public services health, water,
  sanitation, education...
• Result Improvements in Life Expectancy and
  quality of life

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EXPANSION OF PRIVATE SECTOR DOMINANCE EXPANSION
DEL DOMINIO POR EL SECTOR PRIVADO
1975
2002
IMF index - Indice del FMI Economic freedom
available to private companies Libertad
economica ejercida por empresas GRIS no datos o
NO PS - Sector privado 1 Weak PS - Sector
privado debil 7 Strong PS - Sector
privado fuerte
4
Political economic transitions
Military coups
Fall USSR
Financial tools Lendinggtdebt crisis
Tax cuts Budget deficits
5
1970s Political economic transitions
1970s coups chile
Military coups
Financial tools Lendinggtdebt crisis
Tax cuts Budget deficits
6
1980s political economic transitions
1980s US UK
ThatcherReagan
Financial tools Lendinggtdebt crisis
Tax cuts Budget deficits
7
1990s political economic transitions
1990s
Fall USSR
Financial tools Lendinggtdebt crisis
Tax cuts Budget deficits
8
2000s political economic transitions
2000s

Fall USSR
Financial tools Lendinggtdebt crisis
Tax cuts Budget deficits
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Progression of reforms
Pressure on Public services
DEVELOPING Structural adjustment reforms Plus
military coups or war gt weak states
DEVELOPED Tax cuts Budget deficits
Reduced public spending Staff cuts service cuts
Public services deteriorate
Decentralization
Privatization by stealth Outsourcing
Contracting out Public-private partnerships Privat
e financing initiatives
Direct privatization Sale or issue of shares in
public Company (telecom, utilities)
Increased private sector dominance of economy
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Impact on workers
1. Loss of public sector jobs
2. Worsening of employment conditions

• Increase in short-term, part-time employment
• Lower wages
• Loss of benefits

3. Worsening of working conditions

• Larger workloads
• Greater workplace hazards

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Consequences of commercialization

• Public services
• basic rights commodities for
  sale
• 1. Decreased access to public services
• 2. Generalized deterioration in quality of
  services
• 3. Increases in costs
• 4. Reduced democratic accountability
• Access to and quality of public services received
• depend on economic status, increasing
  inequalities

12
INCREASE IN INEQUALITY
Survey of 59 countries Source
World Bank staff calculations
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Global economic crisis challenges and
opportunities

• OPPORTUNITY Push for growth of public sector
• The crisis exposes the structural flaws of the
  private sector, its limitations and failures.
• Opportunity to explain private sector
  limitations and offer alternatives
• b) Public investment in publicly owned services
  and infrastructure to promote growth in a way
  that ensures public accountability and pursuit of
  social goals

• CHALLENGE The crisis puts public services at
  further risk
• Renewed push to cut public services due to
  resources devoted to financial rescue and
  decreased revenues due to reduced tax base
• Argument that crisis broke because structural
  reforms were not complete

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Goals of this meeting
ANALYSIS 1) Develop an updated global picture
of the policies and strategies being used to
promote privatization, the form they take in each
sub-region, and the forces behind
them. STRATEGY 2) Share experiences (positive
and negative) with the host of strategies that
unions have pursued to deal with the many aspects
of privatization. 3) Identify concrete steps we
can pursue nationally, regionally and globally to
better respond to the challenge of
privatization/marketization of municipal
services. 4) Develop teams and networks to
better organize effective responses and to
advance in the achievement of quality municipal
services.
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Plan for this meeting

• Develop a clear picture of trends and actors
• a) Outcomes of 30 years experience - Warner
• Factors influencing decisions on private or
  public
• b) Forces behind privatization - Hall
• GROUP DISCUSSION identify targets for our
  efforts means to influence them

• 2. Develop a picture of successful union
  strategies
• a) Political actions - Sternatz
• b) Alliances with communities/users of services
  - Tokumo
• c) Union alternatives for reform of Municipal
  services - Butcher
• GROUP DISCUSSION identify universal elements of
  successful strategies

The WIN strategy example of a systematic
approach

• 3. Global activities and how we organize to
  pursue them
• GROUP DISCUSSION specific global targets and
  activities to impact them
• development of teams and networks

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100 years of difference
PSI Founded by 17 44,000 members 20
million members Delegates 6 countries 161
countries
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Dr. Jorge R. Mancillas Jorge.mancillas_at_world-psi.o
rg (33) 450 40 11 50