Regulating employment conditions in a hospital network: the case of the Private Finance Initiative

Abstract

A key component of the UK government's modernisation agenda has been encouragement of public–private partnerships to enhance public service delivery. In contrast to adversarial forms of contracting out associated with the degradation of employment conditions, public–private partnerships are intended to deliver mutual gains and empower the workforce. These degradation and empowerment interpretations concentrate on developments at the workplace. In this article, we develop a third interpretation of the consequences of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), which links workplace practice to state regulation, highlighting the growing importance of state re-regulation and the contradictory effects on the workforce. Drawing on a case study of a large acute hospital PFI scheme, we highlight the degree of re-regulation of employment conditions that has been necessary to make PFI more palatable to the workforce and trade unions. These measures have fostered blended outcomes for the workforce.