Procurement must 'be tool for social justice'

Unite delegate and NHS worker Lesley Mansell made a passionate contribution in a debate on public procurement on Monday (September 23) at Labour Conference.

“Labour in power must use every tool to rebuild the mess the Tories have left,” she said, adding that “public procurement must be a core part of this”.

“Whether it’s in construction, healthcare, public transport, or manufacturing, the procurement process shapes the working conditions, wages, and job security of millions of workers in this country,” Lesley noted.

She asserted that procurement must be “fair and transparent”.

“Stop giving contracts to mates then bunging them in the House of Lords, while goods go down the tip – companies mustn’t win contracts at the expense of their workers, paying poverty wages, off-shoring jobs, avoiding tax, or using zero-hour contracts.”

Lesley went on to say that in order to “make work pay”, thousands of contracts must be insourced, and in the process “cutting the privateers out of our public services”.

“Contracts must prioritise jobs, and hard-wire employment rights, trade union access and collective agreements,” she added.

“Stop corrupt profiteers fleecing our health service, like hospital PFI schemes that put my hospital into massive debt, hogtying us from delivering services.”

“We cannot allow our strategic industries like steel to close thousands of jobs, leaving communities on the scrap heap, while massive handouts go to companies largely not based here,” Lesley continued.

She noted that government procurement must deliver “sustainability, just transition and local employment”.

To applause, Lesley emphasised that trade unions must be around the table when procurement decisions are made, with workers “central to every decision”.

“The economy won’t work unless we put money into it in this country, not in tax havens,” she told conference, concluding, “Let’s make sure procurement is a tool for progress and social justice again.”

By Hajera Blagg

Photos by Mark Thomas