Procurement at the heart of strong manufacturing sector

#STUC16 UNISON’s Carol Ball threw the spotlight on procurement as Congress set out an ambitious plan to end the stagnation of manufacturing in Scotland through a long-term industrial strategy.

Joining the criticisms of the Scottish Government’s ‘A Manufacturing Future for Scotland’ plan, Carol told delegates that this really is a missed opportunity for a much needed comprehensive manufacturing strategy.

'Ultimate market madness', UNISON's statement on privatisation Scottish Water services

Date: Tuesday 6 October 2015

Dave Watson, head of UNISON Scotland bargaining and campaigns, said: 
“UNISON is deeply disappointed that the contract for Scotland’s public sector water and wastewater services is to be awarded to a privatised utility.  In fairness, the Scottish Government had few options because the system of retail water competition is the ultimate in market madness. £350m will be paid to Anglian Water in Huntingdon, only for most of that money to be repaid to Scottish Water in wholesale charges. The cost of this crazy system is picked up by the taxpayer.”

“The claimed headline savings include water efficiency measures that should be undertaken anyway and is often included to spin out the alleged benefits of retail competition." 

“This procurement also highlights the importance of addressing tax dodging in procurement, an issue UNISON and other civil society organisations campaigned for during the passage of the Procurement Act. There should be pre-qualification disclosure of company taxation policies and public bodies should be able to evaluate a tender on the basis of which company pays tax or not. Assessment of bids could make use of the Fair Tax Mark."

‘We have always said that Scottish water should stay in Scotland in public hands it works, is good value for money and water customers support the corporation staying in public hands." 

ends

Notes

Corporate Watch report that Anglian paid £151 million to its private owners, but just £1 million in tax in 2012, after an operating profit of £363 million. It avoids millions in tax by routing profits through tax havens by way of taking on high-interest loans from their owners through the Channel Islands stock exchange.

Ten Asks: http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/Procurement-10asks-regs+guidance_Apr2015.pdf

UNISON is the public sector union, the biggest union in Scotland. UNISON represents workers in Scottish Water and BusinessStream

Civil society groups demand ethical public procurement

UNISON Scotland is involved in launching the new #10Asks on procurement today. Here's the press release:

Civil society groups demand ethical public procurement

New public procurement rules in Scotland should help tackle tax dodging, blacklisting and climate change, according to a coalition of civil society coalitions.

International development charities, environmental groups, voluntary organisations and trade unions joined together today (Thursday) to demand that Scotland’s annual procurement spend of around £10 billion should promote key sustainable and ethical policy objectives.

E-Briefing for MSPs on today's Public Procurement Reform debate

17 April 2013

 

MSPs have been asked by the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee for their views on

"the efficacy of current public procurement processes and on the scope and potential for improvements to be made to these processes", to inform future work on the proposed Procurement Reform Bill.

UNISON Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to use the Bill to support innovative action against tax dodging and the use of tax havens, banning companies involved in tax dodging from public contracts.

We urge members to highlight the following ways in which procurement processes could be improved, to ensure that public spending on procurement is used to deliver important social, economic and environmental benefits, including improved protection for workers.

The Bill should be used to promote:

labour rights and workforce protections, such as the PPP Protocol and Section 52 Guidance (both of which must now be urgently reviewed and extended), and compliance with the Equality Act


a tax justice approach, where, using appropriate legal advice, the best options are found to bar companies using tax havens and/or other forms of tax dodging from being eligible for public contracts


a positive employment agenda – with companies which do not comply with a range of other certain basic standards not permitted to tender for public contracts (for example the blacklisting of trade unionists in the construction industry should lead to exclusions)


the Scottish Living Wage, both for directly employed staff and for employees working for contractors


sustainable procurement across the public sector, ensuring that public procurement policies contribute properly to Scotland meeting its climate change targets and support a ‘Just Transition’ to a low carbon economy

Collective Concerns voiced by civil society

Given the far-reaching implications of this Bill, UNISON Scotland is pleased to join with large civil society coalitions in Scotland – Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, Scottish Fair Trade Forum and Enough Food for Everyone IF – to highlight our joint concerns about the direction the proposed Bill is taking and to call for social, environmental and ethical objectives issues to be at the heart of this important piece of legislation.　

 

UNISON's response to the Scottish Government Procurement Reform Bill consultation.

 

UNISON's tax justice proposals for the Procurement Reform Bill.

 

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Scottish Ministers told time is right to act against tax dodging companies

7 March 2013

UNISON Scotland will today (Thursday) urge the Scottish Government to respond to overwhelming public outrage about tax dodging companies.

The public services union wants Ministers to use their forthcoming Procurement Reform Bill to ban firms involved in tax dodging from winning public contracts.

Dave Watson, Head of Bargaining and Campaigns, will tell a Holyrood conference on Sustainable Procurement that the time is right to legislate and that there is considerable cross party support for the principle.

Also, a recent Christian Aid public opinion survey found that 80% are angry about firms not paying their fair share of tax and a third are boycotting companies over it.

Dave said: “There is enormous public anger over companies that don’t pay their fair share of tax. The timing of this Bill is perfect for the Scottish Government to respond.

“We are suggesting that the Bill should send out a very clear message. As Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said, ‘Taxpayers’ money should not be funding tax dodgers.’”

The Edinburgh conference, organised by Holyrood Magazine, is to hear about a range of ways in which procurement can be used as a lever for social, economic and environmental benefits, including to support the Living Wage, to support local economies and sustainable development and to contribute to climate change emissions reduction targets.

Dave Watson is speaking at the event, on promoting best practice, including the Scottish Living Wage.

He said: “At a time of massive public spending cuts it is outrageous that some £120 billion of tax is not being collected. The UK Government should be doing more with stronger anti-tax-avoidance legislation, more tax staff and greater transparency in company accounts.

“The Scottish Government can encourage companies to change their ways through procurement.”

ENDS

1. Danny Alexander made the comment quoted above in September 2012 at the Liberal Democrat party conference.
2. The conference website is http://sustainableprocurement.holyrood.com/
3. UNISON’s Procurement Reform Bill Consultation response is online at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/
ProcurementReformBill_Response_Nov2012.pdf
4. A number of European cities/regions are already acting against companies that use tax havens.
www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/helsinki-boycotts-tax-havens/
5. Richard Murphy, of Tax Research UK, and adviser to the Tax Justice Network, says that legislation in England, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, provides councils there with ways to argue for this that would not breach EU procurement rules. This would include councils being able to demonstrate that a large company paying tax would benefit the community through funding for better education, roads etc. This would allow them to choose a tender on the basis of which company pays tax or not.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2012/10/23/
the-october-taxcast-from-the-tax-justice-network/

UNISON believes the Procurement Reform Bill could use a similar approach.
6. This Early Day Motion has received support from Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrat Scottish MPs www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-12/2399
7. Transport Scotland said last week that companies involved in tax avoidance may be barred from competing to maintain the new Forth Road Bridge.
8. UNISON Scotland is a member of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland which has raised concerns that the Procurement Reform Bill will not be strong enough on sustainability and ensuring procurement policy contributes to climate change emissions reduction targets www.stopclimatechaos.org/sites/default/files/sccs-proc-cons-resp-final-web_2.pdf

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