The government's 'modernisation' agenda for the public services has put considerable pressure on unions in the sector, giving them the dual challenges of articulating a coherent national policy response and ensuring effective organisation and representation at workplace level. These challenges are exemplified in their responses to the private finance initiative (PFI), which is now the dominant system of procuring public infrastructure. UNISON estimates that 100,000 of its 1.3 million members have been transferred to a private contractor or not-for-profit provider in recent years.

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June 2005     Paper Number CEPCP180

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