Unions call for cautious approach in privatisation of public services

In mid March 2007, the five major trade union confederations in Slovenia organised a protest rally against the government’s plans for public sector reform. The confederations strive for gradual and cautious liberalisation of the public sector and are against unlimited privatisation. They warned the government if it does not take into account their demands they will intensify trade union activity and call for a referendum.

On 15 March 2007, the five major trade union confederations organised a protest rally ‘For high-quality public services accessible to all’ against the government’s announced reforms of the public sector. The confederations involved included the following:

• the Confederation of Trade Unions 90 of Slovenia (Konfederacija sindikatov 90 Slovenije, Konfederacija 90);

• the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (Konfederacija sindikatov javnega sektorja, KSJS);

• KNSS – Independence, the Confederation of New Trade Unions of Slovenia (KNSS – Neodvisnost, Konfederacija novih sindikatov Slovenije, KNSS);

• the Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia Pergam (Konfederacija sindikatov Slovenije Pergam, KSS Pergam);

• the Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS).

The confederations strive for the gradual and cautious liberalisation of public services and are against the ‘silent’ unlimited privatisation and Americanisation of Slovenian society. The Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Jozef Niemiec, also participated in the rally.

The President of ZSSS, Dušan Semolič, called for caution in the privatisation of healthcare and education services which cannot be merely a legal or economic issue. It should rather involve crucial ethical and social aspects. ZSSS does not oppose privatisation and the granting of licences to private operators in the healthcare sector, but considers that uncritical liberalisation and privatisation would lower standards and hamper the accessibility of services.

Other speakers at the protest rally stressed that the licences for private operators should be granted to doctors in areas where primary healthcare is not developed enough. Doctors had been trying to acquire licences mainly in urban centres and the speakers questioned what would happen to healthcare in rural areas.

In general, trade unions do not oppose privatisation in education, but they believe that private schools should only complement the public education system. However, trade unions were against higher wages for teachers at private schools, because this would lead to a concentration of better teachers in private schools and consequently a deterioration of the public schooling system.

The protesters called for a delay in the implementation of the European Parliament and Council Directive 97/67/EC on the common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service, as this would cause closures of non-profitable post offices and staff lay-offs.

Joint declaration

On 27 March 2007, the trade unions adopted a joint ‘Declaration of Slovene trade unions against the privatisation of public healthcare, education and other services of general interest’. The declaration contained the following list of demands.

1. The government must immediately stop the liberalisation and privatisation of public services, especially of healthcare services and education.

2. The government must immediately prepare a development strategy for public services, whereby unambiguous demarcation between the public and private provision of services of general interest must be established. As part of the strategy, the government must define the financing and the democratic control of financing and provision of public services. It must also tighten the conditions for the granting of licences, especially in healthcare and education, and the control over the carrying out of the licence work.

3. For the development strategy on public services, the government must reach the widest national consensus, especially among the social partners, rather than just take into account the expert opinions.

4. The government must explicitly put public interest before private interest and thus ensure the realisation of basic civil rights for the population and the respect of the social welfare state principles.

5. The government must retain the principles of mutuality and solidarity in public service provision, ensure their equal quality and accessibility for all and prevent services such as health services and education from being available only to a select group of people or to only those who can afford such services.

6. The government must provide a firm legal basis for the services of general public interest, which should protect the economic and social rights of those employed in public sector institutions.

7. The government must reach a consensus with the social partners on all legal aspects concerning the provision of quality public services accessible to all, especially in the fields of healthcare and education, before submitting them to parliament for further debate.

8. Trade unions have warned the government that if it does not take into account their demands they will intensify trade union activity. In this instance, the unions would call for a referendum to ask citizens what kind of public services, particularly in relation to healthcare and education, should be provided by the state.

Commentary

The public welcomed the protest rally because the values of solidarity and justice, as well as of public services, are deeply rooted in Slovenian society. However, the government believed that the rally was unnecessary.

Štefan Skledar, Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development