SIPTU Organisers and members of the National Executive Council from the Support Sector attended a seminar by the Nevin Economic Research Institute entitled ‘Revisiting Outsourcing in the Public Sector – A Value for Money Approach’ in June.
The seminar heard that the outsourcing of public services may not present real value for money for taxpayers as has been argued by public service employers.
The research has shown that, while it can be argued that there may be initial savings in the decision to outsource services to private providers, the decision to outsource services can lead to higher costs in the long run. These costs can arise due to complex contract negotiations, legal challenges, and the cost of monitoring the contract. In a recent systematic review of public contracts (2018) there has been evidence that where public services have been outsourced there has been an increase in costs to the state, and where savings have been achieved the levels of those savings have decreased over time.
In terms of efficiencies, the seminar pointed out that where efficiencies were achieved through outsourcing a service, it was only in situations where high levels of contract monitoring were implemented.
Of course, the seminar also pointed to the fact that where services were outsourced it had a detrimental impact on workers and the composition of the workforce, an argument frequently put forward by SIPTU as a union in opposition to any proposals of outsourcing.
The research seems to demonstrate that the trade union movement has been on the correct side of the argument regarding the outsourcing agenda; and is a reminder that we should continue to challenge it in favour of decent work and decent public services.