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5/4/2010 - Sharks circling Scottish Water

On 30th March, UNISON Scotland launched a new policy briefing - Defend Scotland’s Water - responding to an increasing number of calls for a review of the operating model for Scottish Water.

Speaking at a recent meeting of UNISON water representatives, Dave Watson UNISON Scottish Organiser said:
“The sharks are circling again around Scotland’s greatest asset – our water. The regulatory regime has been preparing Scottish Water for privatisation for some time, driven by the ideological zeal of the Water Industry Commission Chair, Sir Ian Byatt. He has been joined by the SFT (Scottish Futures Trust) led by another privatisation advocate and banker, Sir Angus Grossart. Given this concerted campaign supported by the private sector who are keen to get their hands on our water at a knock down price, we need to make it crystal clear, that water is both, an essential public service, and, given the global water crisis, one of Scotland’s greatest economic assets.”

The UNISON briefing outlines the huge costs of privatisation to the water charge payer, including higher borrowing costs, billing systems, and dividends It also points to the beneficiaries of privatisation being the corporate financiers, consultants and company directors – particularly of the big overseas water multinationals who would target the privatised company.

For UNISON members in Scottish Water, we must also be aware of the real risk to jobs from any change to the operating model. Mutualisation or privatisation will inevitably lead to deep cuts in the name of "delivering efficiencies".

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