contracting out - the gravy train
WORKERS, MAY 2004 ISSUE
This government is good for some. It is the biggest single buyer of management consultants' services. Their income from the public sector doubled last year to £1.3 billion. Ministers spend public money to hire private outside "experts" to tell public sector workers how to do their jobs.
Since 1997, this government has signed 570 PFI deals worth £36 billion. The chief executive of project management group Amec, for example, has benefited hugely from PFI: he got a 42% pay rise last year, taking his income to over £1 million. Amec's head of British and US operations got £426,000 for four months' work. Clearly, PFI is working.