The coalition government is moving closer to the abolition of the two-tier workforce code that is an important element in the protection of pay and conditions of public service workers. The code was negotiated with the previous Labour government and was established to ensure that private contractors providing public services would apply the minimum rates that applied in the public sector and that these rates would also apply to any new workers taken on. The UNISON union fears that abolition of the code will mean wages will be cut as private companies undercut the public sector and each other to win contracts (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 December 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/415 ; http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2230
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.