Abstract
This article argues that liberalisation and privatisation of public services have led to a commodification of public sector work and labour relations. Using the example of European postal services it describes the process of liberalisation, privatisation and the resulting changes in company strategies and organisation. It argues that commercialisation has not only changed the nature of service provision, but has also caused a far-reaching intensification and casualisation of employment in the European postal sector.
Highlights
There have always been significant national differences in Europe in the size, scope and organisation of the public sector, as well as the various subsectors and activities that are commonly subsumed under public services
The high degree of security and equality, in turn, meant that the commodity character of labour power was severely constrained in public sector labour relations
Workers could not be fired at the employers’ discretion; wages were based on educational credentials and seniority rather than on the demand and supply of specific qualifications; bonuses were attached to workplaces rather depending on individual performance; and public employers hired additional staff rather than using temporary workers or ordering overtime hours to cope with fluctuating demand
Summary
There have always been significant national differences in Europe in the size, scope and organisation of the public sector, as well as the various subsectors and activities that are commonly subsumed under public services. Research for this article is partly based on four company case studies on two incumbents and two competitors in Austria and Germany involving a total of 25 qualitative interviews with (ex) managers, trade union and works council representatives and workers as part of the PIQUE (Privatisation of Public Services and the Impact on Quality, Employment and Productivity) project, funded by the European Commission’s 6th. The impact on work and employment Increases in productivity at the former monopoly providers have been associated with an intensification of work and with a substantial reduction in it can become very difficult for the incumbent to sustain its costly network if it loses a number of large customers Such mail is put into new envelopes and posted at one of the universal provider’s outlets. In addition to legal problems, works council members and trade union representatives find it difficult to overcome language and cultural barriers, in a situation where many of these workers do not speak English, let alone German
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