Tory shadow chancellor George Osborne Has made a pledge to public sector workers – claiming that ‘the Conservatives are on the side of Britain's public servants. Public service is at the heart of our vision of a big society – and central to our ambitions for a stronger and fairer Britain.’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/16/george-osborne-public-sector-workers
Osborne acknowledges that his Party will introduce a public sector pay freeze but omits to mention Tory intentions on public sector pensions ( a £50k pensions cap on the higher paid excepted) and outsourcing /TUPE which will massively erode the job security, living standards and pension prospects for millions of workers in the UK public services.
Public sector pensions
The Tory manifesto states: ‘We want to make sure public sector pensions are fair and affordable. An incoming Conservative government would work with the trade unions, businesses and others to address the growing disparity between public sector pensions and private sector pensions, while protecting accrued rights.’ It is extremely unlikely that the Tories intend to improve pension entitlements in the private sector.’
Outsourcing and TUPE
Lord David Hunt the Shadow Minister for Business, Enterprise and Regulation has said in a recent policy briefing: ‘TUPE regulations protect employees where their employer changes as a result of a transfer of the undertaking or business in which they work. The employees automatically become employees of the new employer on the same terms and conditions. This all springs from the requirements of EU law. As matters stand, however, the TUPE regulations here in the UK go beyond what is required by EU law, for the EU directive states only that regulations should apply where there is a 'transfer of an economic entity which retains its identity'. A Conservative government would seek to rein in those of the government's `service provision changes' - where activities are contracted out, contracted in, or reassigned from one contractor to another - that go beyond what is required. This would take many transactions outside the scope of the law, giving firms more freedom to out-source work and change service providers, giving service providers more freedom to bid for contracts.’
Osborne’s claim of being on the side of public servants should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.
