Debt, danger and privatisation - services firms win before UK vote counted‏

Not content with cutting back on public services to pay back debt any new government is expected to increase the use of privatisation to reduce costs. City traders who manage our pension funds are buying up the shares of the public sector service companies in eager expectation of a new round of contract awards for the likes of Serco. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/services-firms-win-before-uk-vote-counted-2010-05-04?reflink=MW_news_stmp

"The reality is that the U.K. is expected to run the largest G-20 fiscal deficit in 2010 and the election has been seen by many to be the point at which hard decisions need to be made as to how the country starts to address this problem," said Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank.

That's where the privatising firms think they can step in.

"Central and local governments are looking harder at shared services and using technology to make services more accessible yet cheaper to operate," said Serco CEO Christopher Hyman in a recent call with investors. Capita shares up around 5% over the last month; Serco and Carillion also have gained ground.

The irony and contradictions of this process are now being laid out starkly for our members particularly those who are members of the LGPS.

Whoever is elected tomorrow will start cutting back spending in the public sector to pay back the debt, which is owed to in part the LGPS. Further privatisation will see UNISON members transferred to companies that will eventually cut back on job levels to pay their shareowners, in part again the LGPS.

In 2008 the union’s Capital Stewardship programme undertook research that showed collectively the LGPS owned 3.5% of Serco and Capita shares respectively. Its time we got active with our money!