{"id":14386,"date":"2018-01-16T14:34:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T14:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=14386"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:59:12","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:59:12","slug":"a-watershed-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=14386","title":{"rendered":"‘A watershed moment’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

As construction and outsourcing firm Carillion collapsed into liquidation yesterday (January 15), Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for an end to privatisation of public services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a video<\/a> watched by hundreds of thousands of people, Corbyn said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the wake of the collapse of contractor Carillion, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to put an end to the rip-off privatisation policies that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done serious damage to our public services and fleeced the public of billions of pounds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is a watershed moment,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The call came as the government scrambled to manage the chaos of the Carillion crisis, which has seen 20,000 direct jobs in the UK now at risk \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and an estimated 30,000 businesses in the supply chain are also under threat as creditors of the firm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fears over the running of public services in the immediate aftermath of the Carillion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collapse are running high \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Oxfordshire County Council took the remarkable step<\/a> of putting firefighters on standby to deliver school meals Carillion had previously been contracted to undertake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In an emergency meeting<\/a> last night, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington was grilled by Labour MPs over what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been seen as rank government failure to see the crisis coming when there were obvious warning signs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carillion had issued three profit warnings last year \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but even so the government continued to hand over contracts for public services to Carillion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been estimated<\/a> that the taxpayer may have to foot a bill to the tune of hundreds of millions in the aftermath of the Carillion crisis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lidington confirmed last night that all public services previously run by Carillion will for now be run and paid for by the government, including the wages of tens of thousands of Carillion workers on public contracts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Those Carillion workers on private contracts, however, will have their wages guaranteed for only 48 hours \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if other businesses involved in Carillion contracts do not step in to pay their wages by tomorrow, these thousands of workers would be out of a job, Lidington noted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Shudder of fear’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

He added that a Job Centre helpline will be available to these workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to which shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett responded that this would \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsend a shudder of fear\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 through workers over their future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trickett demanded to know why for three months, Carillion was not overseen by a Crown representative, which is normally the case, especially for such a big contractor \u00e2\u20ac\u201c instead, the post was left vacant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He likewise criticised the government for failing to involve trade union representatives in the aftermath of the crisis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other Labour MPs in last night\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s emergency meeting highlighted how the collapse of Carillion showed that the underlying logic of Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) is flawed \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and called for a tax on PFI operators.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe accounts show that in the last four years, on the PFI contracts alone, Carillion was part of deals that have made nearly \u00c2\u01411bn in profit directly from the public purse,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Labour MP Stella Creasy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is now clear that the notion, which all governments have dealt with, that PFI is a good way to transfer risk to the private sector is a myth,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWill the government finally bring in a windfall tax to claw back the money so desperately needed for our public services from these companies?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Corbyn pledged last night that a future Labour government would end PFIs once and for all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time we took back control,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to not only guarantee the public sector takes over the work Carillion was contracted to do but goes much further and ends contracts where costs spiral, profits soar and services are hollowed out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLabour will end the Private Finance Initiative rip-off, put an end to the private-profit-is-best dogma and run our public services for the benefit of the many, not the profits of the few.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This morning, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, in an interview on ITV\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Good Morning Britain, also highlighted the problems with private contractors running public services, and he lambasted the government for its failure to see the Carillion crisis coming.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhy did government continue ignoring the signs?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn 2013, the City started betting against Carillion \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they thought it was overstretched.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He also added that it defied logic that for three months there was no Crown oversight of Carillion at a time when it was obvious to all that the company was in deep financial trouble.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Ministers cannot dodge their responsibilities’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMinisters cannot dodge their responsibilities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor three months we had no Crown overview \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be a civil service overview of these massive contracts of billions of pounds of taxpayers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 money. The government failed to have an overview during a highly volatile situation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While saving people jobs should now be the primary priority, McCluskey said that afterwards, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwe have to open up a debate about private companies in public services.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn public services, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get private companies who are less concerned about delivering a quality service \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and more concerned about driving profit and dividends back to the shareholders,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told Good Morning Britain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the TUC today called for the immediate establishment of a Carillion taskforce<\/a>, one which would involve trade unions to give workers certainty over their jobs, wages and pensions and would bring Carillion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s public-sector contracts back in-house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The TUC also called on the future taskforce to support the transfer of private sector contracts to alternative providers with jobs, pay and pensions protected, among other aims.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe urgently need a national task force involving unions to safeguard jobs, services, and pensions,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWorkers can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be left at the back of the queue,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEach and every worker at Carillion needs to know where they stand. They have bills and mortgages to pay, and deserve certainty on their future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd we have to ensure that there aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t more Carillions on the horizon. That means an immediate risk assessment of all large outsourcing firms with government contracts. Public services are already under pressure, and can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take another hit like this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Watch the full Good Morning Britain interview with Unite general secretary Len McCluskey here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As construction and outsourcing firm Carillion collapsed into liquidation yesterday (January 15), Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for an end to privatisation of public services.   In a video watched by hundreds of thousands of people, Corbyn said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the wake of the collapse of contractor Carillion, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to put an end to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[855,167,647,252],"wps_subtitle":"Unite calls for privatisation debate","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14386"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26475,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14386\/revisions\/26475"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}