Public services and their trade unions central to fostering inclusive, thriving local economic development
15 October 2015
On 14 October 2015, PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli joined UCLG, ILO, UNDP, Caritas, Slowfood, and several local government and municipalities representatives in the opening panel of the 3rd Local Development Forum (LED) in Turin (Italy).
Gathering over 2300 people worldwide, the 3rd LED Forum aims at showcasing and promoting the critical role of local economic development strategies and local government actors as essential to effectively address the recently launched UN Post-2015 Development Agenda, that include the challenge to provide basic service delivery and achieving goals on poverty, hunger, water, sanitation, education, and health care.
Asked about the PSI assessment on the ability of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to deliver for local economic development, she commented: “PPPs in essential services are the result of deliberate political choices and a gift to multinational corporations and business. They often result into tax avoidance, higher prices, and worse service to citizens and local communities. Public-Public Partnerships and investment in quality public services, instead, are the way to go to achieve sustainable, socially inclusive, equalizing, job-rich local economic development, as exemplified by the over 200 cities worldwide - including Paris and now Barcelona - which have chosen to remunicipalize their water services".
On the role of public service trade unions in South-South Cooperation between cities the PSI General Secretary pointed at the support provided by the public water service union of the City of Buenos Aires - and facilitated by PSI – to the City of Jakarta, whose water privatization was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. The South-South trade union partnership is helping the Indonesian capital to gain back control of its water services and deliver for the local community after 20 years of privatization and extremely poor, unaffordable privatized water service.
The 3rd World Forum on Local Economic Development (LED) is organized by the Municipality and the Metropolitan City of Turin, the global network of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) among others, and taking place between 13th-16th October 2015. Earlier editions of the LED Forums had taken place in Seville (Spain) in 2011 and in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) in 2012.