Today's Topics:
1. awsm.nz: Stuck in a Rut: The Perils of Private Public
Partnerships (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. FAU Delivery Union Press Release: Negotiations with Foodora
fail! (de) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
On October 26th, it was reported (stuff.co.nz) that two sections of the Waikato Expressway
had experienced problems with rutting. Rutting is when grooves appear in a road where the
wheels of vehicles run along. It is a problem normally associated with dirt roads and
tracks rather than a modern multi-carriage roadway that had only been completed in
December 2012 (in the case of the Te Rapa section) and opened in December 2013 (in the
case of the Ngaruawahia section). This comes only four months after it was reported that
the Kapiti Expressway in the lower North Island, which opened in February 2017, had major
issues caused by the failure of the waterproofing of the roadway. Both Expressways were
constructed as part of the 2008-2017 National-led government's much vaunted Roads of
National Significance that were designed to improve key stretches of the state highway
network that had been neglected for many years by successive governments.
The explanation given by Peter Simcock of the NZ Transport Agency for the rutting problems
on the Waikato Expressway was "While we did challenge the designs ... we received all the
assurances from their experts - and they were recognised paving experts - that they would
perform."
As far as the cause of the Kapiti Expressway's problems were concerned the explanation
given by NZTA Highways Manager Neil Walker was "It's too early to say what could be
causing these changes, but we are monitoring the condition of the surface at these
locations very closely in order to determine whether any remedial work will be required."
No matter how one looks at the issue, the failure of two major prestige roading projects
is not a good look for any government or the companies involved with the construction of
the Expressways (Fulton Hogan and Opus Consultants in the case of the Waikato Expressway
and Fletcher Construction and Higgins Contracting, and engineering consultancy Beca in the
case of the Kapiti Expressway). It also exposes a major flaw with the Private Public
Partnership (PPP) arrangements that are often used in infrastructure projects.
A PPP is defined by Wikipedia as: "A public-private partnership is a cooperative
arrangement between two or more public and private sectors, typically of a long-term
nature." In plain English, the government contracts out a particular infrastructure
project to private companies who then sign a contract about what is to be done, when it is
to be done and how much it is expected to cost. In theory PPPs' are meant to be more cost
effective and reduce the costs placed upon governments. In practice, as has been seen with
the Expressways, they are plagued with problems. Part of the problem lies with the
tendency to tender out contracts to companies who are either very cosy with the government
(as in the case of Fletcher Construction, which has a history of working with the state
that goes back to the depression of the 1930s') or who are well known for doing things on
the cheap (as in the case of Fulton Hogan), often through the use of subcontractors.
While it could be argued from a financial point of view that there is nothing wrong with
this kind of thing, the Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017 proved that such
arrangements can have deadly consequences. When the Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea Council tendered contracts for the Grenfell Tower renovations the company that won
the contract was Rydon. However, there were at least eight other contracted and
subcontracted companies involved in the renovation project. Not only was there little or
no oversight over which contractor or subcontractor was responsible for their particular
area of expertise but it proved be an administrative nightmare with each company deploying
their own teams of experts, design teams, project managers, workers and administrators.
With virtually no one responsible for overseeing what was going on the Grenfell Tower
effectively became a death trap even before the renovations had been completed. (The
Guardian, June 15th, 2017.) The renovations would later be listed as a major contributing
factor in the deaths of at least 80 people in the fire.
The many companies that are involved in Private Public Partnerships, raises questions not
only as to safety but accountability. Who is held to account when things go wrong? In the
case of the two Expressways the government, the NZ Transport Agency and the various
private contractors have blamed each other and the weather for the problems but, as of the
time of writing, no one has stepped up and stated they had not done their job properly.
More telling is that no one has been held to account for the failures that have already
occurred on the Expressways within the short time they have been open.
In regards to the Grenfell Tower fire the sheer number of companies involved in the
renovations has created some serious accountability and safety concerns. In the above
quoted article in The Guardian one fire safety expert highlighted concerns:
"Ben Bradford, a fire safety expert who is managing director of the risk consultancy BB7,
said the multiple links in the chain of contractors could cause safety problems. "There's
probably multiple failings that have occurred in this particular case," he said. "The
work, in terms of fire stopping, often falls to a sub-contractor. They don't always
realise the critical nature of the components they're installing in the overall system."
He also claimed that the partial privatisation of the building inspection regime sometimes
led to a "race to the bottom" to reduce fees and limit the number of safety inspections
carried out."
In the past mistakes would occur on projects, but at least there was a clearer chain of
command and it was a bit easier to know where to point the finger if things went wrong.
However, with the development of PPPs', that chain of command is not only confusing but
it's often nearly impossible to hold anyone to account when things go wrong.
It is true that construction by a PPP can be done faster in some cases than previous
models. The Kapiti Expressway was completed four months ahead of schedule for example, but
the consequences can be both expensive as in the case of the Waikato and Kapiti
Expressways, and deadly as in the case of the Grenfell Tower fire in London.
Regardless of how it is packaged and labelled PPPs' have largely combined the worst
aspects of governments and the corporate sector and the biggest losers in this latest
trend are the working class and the poor. More often than not it's their taxes that
largely pay the corporate sector to build these projects which, for the most part, do not
benefit the people who suffer the most inconvenience and disruption to their lives.
In the case of the Grenfell Towers the renovations were largely undertaken to make the
building look more attractive to the surrounding neighbourhoods, which include some of the
wealthiest people in the United Kingdom, rather than for the benefit of the residents. In
the case of the Kapiti Expressway it was mostly constructed to benefit truck drivers
rather than the people of Kapiti, at least according to the opponents of the Expressway.
(Wellington Scoop News - October 1st, 2009)
An article in the Anarchist Library dated September 2nd, 2011, summed up private public
partnerships perfectly:
"What is the dream of every private company? To register large profits, constantly during
the length of time and without risk. ... The ingenious private-public partnership (PPP)
cannot be seen in any other way: a passing of public money to ... large private
contractors, with no apparent benefit for the State."
There is a need to explore alternative models that are more efficient, have more
accountability, consider the environment and local infrastructural needs and also
eliminate the role of private greed and the cosy relationship between the government and
the private sector. As Anarchists we are open to discussion about what specific shape that
might take. We are also realistic in recognising there will never be a perfect approach to
these issues. Nevertheless, we do think our methods can do a much better job in tackling
the questions of how to make such major decisions as whether, when and how to build basic
infrastructure. Generally we see a decentralised and eco-friendly economy, allowing for
genuinely democratic community control combined with a federalised means of co-ordinating
large scale projects, as the basic idea of running society. We believe that would go a
long way to eliminating many of the difficulties of the current system and get us out of
the rut we are all in.
Also see: http://www.awsm.nz/2013/07/02/road-to-somewhere-protest-hikoi-in-rotorua/
http://www.awsm.nz/2017/11/07/stuck-in-a-rut-the-perils-of-private-public-partnerships/
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Message: 2
On the afternoon of November 3rd, the second - and for the time being, final - round of
negotiations between FAU Berlin and the Foodora management ended without concrete results.
The management had already postponed this appointment twice since September. In the
meantime, Foodora has also introduced further changes that worsen the working conditions
of drivers. When it became clear that - contrary to its commitment in August - the
management hadn't prepared any concrete offers to the drivers regarding their key demands,
FAU Berlin had no option but to declare the negotiations a failure. ---- I find this
behaviour completely unprofessional," said Leonhard Herrmann, a driver at Foodora and
member of the negotiating team on Friday. "If Foodora does not abide by any of our
agreements, we must assume that they are not serious about the negotiations. While
negotiations were ongoing, we held back with protests and union action against the company
- now we no longer feel bound by this." The negotiations were supposed to be about the
drivers' three core demands: that the company cover all the operating costs, especially
the bike-repairs; a wage-increase of at least one Euro per hour; and improvements in the
shift planning system. In addition to this, changes in the bonus system and the
de-flexibilisation of the shift-swap system (introduced unilaterally by the company in
September, causing great discontent among drivers) were to be discussed. The Foodora
management did not demonstrate willingness to negotiate any of these topics.
In fact, the only demand the company responded to was the matter of the bike repair costs.
From January 2018, Foodora announced, there will be "cooperation partnerships" with
selected bike shops. Each driver will receive a monthly credit from these shops which
expires at the end of each month. This credit amounts to less than 5ct/km. That is not
only far less than the 35ct/km originally demanded, but also below the 10ct/km paid by
competitor Deliveroo. Riders are particularly skeptical about the fact that the money will
not be transferable from one month to another. Herrmann also noted: "All couriers know
that we often only need a new hose or some chain oil for months on end - but then suddenly
everything breaks down at once and it becomes really expensive. With the model Foodora
wants to offer now, we will still have to pay the real repair costs out of our own pocket."
FAU Berlin is now calling for a rally on the 10th of November. There, the drivers will
protest against the continued deterioration of their working conditions and discuss the
next steps of the campaign, which is again fully underway. In addition to concrete,
effective improvements, many drivers are still calling for a collective agreement that
regulates their working conditions permanently and reliably in the long-term. "Even though
in its current form it is more of a PR-stunt than a real solution: the fact that Foodora
is now introducing a compensation for bike-repair costs at all is clearly a success of our
campaign," says Clemens Melzer, a member of the negotiating team. "So we are going to
continue with this campaign until Foodora agrees to engage in serious negotiations on an
equal footing."
Berlin, November 6th 2017
https://deliverunion.fau.org/2017/11/06/press-release-negotiations-with-foodora-fail/#more-202
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