By Melanie Sjoberg
ADELAIDE — SERCO Australia has lodged a proposal with the state Liberal government to contract for the running of all TAFE administrative, maintenance and grounds duties.
SERCO Australia is a subsidiary of the SERCO group, a British-based transnational. It describes its service as "facilities management".
Since beginning operations in Australia, it has obtained contracts in the defence industry, three of the five Melbourne council parks and gardens contracts and Melbourne's City West water contract. It is attempting to take over the running of Melbourne's public libraries. It began operating the northern metropolitan bus routes of Adelaide in 1995 and is currently bidding to take over the rest. It was also party to one of the unsuccessful bids to take over Adelaide's water supply in 1995.
TAFE management claim that the bid does not need to be taken seriously, but TAFE minister Bob Such has admitted that the proposal is being assessed by consultants. Unions with members in the TAFE sector met on November 13 to develop a plan of defence.
The Australian Education Union and the Community and Public Sector Union/Public Services Association defeated SERCO's bid to administer schools in 1995, ignoring the protestations of Education Department officials who said that it wasn't really going to happen.
The current proposal by SERCO is almost identical to the bid lodged in 1995. The proposal includes the takeover of all financial services, budget preparation, asset management, office administration, human resources, canteen support, quality control services, grounds and building maintenance and other services such as student records. The document also recommends that the contractor have the "freedom to trade off equipment and people as economic advantage dictates".
This style of contract is designed to win the hearts of the economic "rationalists", who argue for government operating only "core business". It implies that the essential administrative and support tasks are not "core". The SERCO submission to the Industry Committee Inquiry into Contracting Out went further, however, arguing that all government services, including teaching, could be delivered by a contractor.
The TAFE sector is already being undermined by the competition mentality. Government funds for labour market programs are allocated on the basis of competitive tendering. TAFE colleges are forced to compete for students rather than meet specialised needs. Courses are funded only annually, leaving students unclear about future options. TAFE lecturers have a high ratio of casual and temporary contracts.
Unions are organising publicity to support the maintenance of jobs and functions in the public sector, therefore ensuring efficient, effective service. CPSU/PSA representatives will meet on November 18 and work site meetings of combined union members will determine ongoing action. Unions are concentrating on membership based activities, which is likely to include a cross-union delegates' meeting and training session. The SERCO record on the treatment of its employees will also be a feature of the campaign.
When SERCO took over, plumbers at the new Melbourne Water were given 48 hours to sign a new contract, despite the pay rate being significantly lower than the award. When they took industrial action, they received a letter stating that only those employees "working as required" would continue in permanent employment.
The ALP opposition has been provided with a copy of the proposal, but stated that contracting out and privatisation were not ideological issues and need to be considered on a case by case basis.