Private Finance Initiative (PFI)

Branch education

What are discussion leaders?

Discussion leaders

Are a method of raising an issue with members in a structured but informal way
Are an education resources that can be used either in branch meetings or with groups of members in the workplace
Allow branch officers and activists to involve members in making decisions about issues that will effect them

A discussion leader is a resource that can be used either by the branch education team or by a workplace steward to lead a structured discussion with a group of members or in a branch meeting as a briefing session.

Within the resources section of this page you will find a number of PFI topic sections that all include

Discussion notes to help you structure your presentation
A powerpoint presentation that can used as a series of OHP slides
Question sheets that will help you stimulate membership discussion on the topic

The point of holding a membership discussion on PFI and its implications are

To inform members about the issue
To advertise UNISONs policy on PFI
To build solidarity among members
To involve members ion the decision making process at local level
To build the unions organising culture around the issue of PFI

In order to do this you can use the discussion leader method and resources

How to organise a membership discussion

As with most organising activities that you undertake as a UNISON activist, the success that you achieve depends on the planning and preparation that you undertake. Bearing this in mind you may wish to use the following guidelines to help you prepare, organise and present a workplace or branch membership discussion session.

The discussion leader resources in the resource section of this page can be used to run in a formal meeting (a branch executive or workplace meeting) or can be used informally with a group of members in the canteen, or even with management agreement in a team briefing session.

The steps

Step 1

Brief yourself up. Read through the materials in the resources section and make sure that you understand the topic that you are going to be talking about

Run through your presentation and make sure you know how it "fits together" - think through what questions you will ask members to stimulate the discussion.

Discuss your plans with the branch - talk to your branch education co-ordinator to involve them and get any organisational assistance that you need to make your presentation effective.

Step 2 Dealing with organisation

You will need to plan out how you are going to get members involved by dealing with organisational questions such as

Where: Where are you going to hold the discussion
Is the place attractive comfortable and accessible to members
Do you need to get management permission to use the place
Does it have facilities for OHPs and/or powerpoint
Will members already be at the place or will they have to make an effort to get there
When: What time of the day/shift will guarantee maximum participation
Will you need to ask management permission for members to attend
Can the discussion take place at break/lunch time
How long is it likely to take
How: How will you ensure membership participation
Do you need to circulate information about the topic to members beforehand
How will you advertise the event; what steps will you take to publicise it
Why: Why are you holding the discussion; what do you want to achieve; what do you want as an outcome

Be clear about your aims before you organise your discussion group and especially before you move on to step 3.

If you want members to decide on a course of action you will need to steer the discussion towards that goal, perhaps by asking questions like
"What options do we have"
"What should we do about this"
"What can we do about this"
"What would you be prepared to do about this"

If you want to use the session to inform members about something you may wish to pose questions like
"Is that clear to everyone"
"What implications does this have for us"
"Does anyone need any further information"
"Does anyone want to say anything about this"
and
"Now we know about this where do we go from here"

Having thought through these factors you are now ready to move on to Step 3

Step 3. Running the discussion

Before the discussion meeting
Rehearse your presentation
Copy any handouts / info you want to give out
Make sure that any equipment that you want to use is working and that you know how to use it
Decide what questions you will use to provoke membership participation
Arrive in good time for the discussion

During the discussion
Introduce yourself if necessary
Welcome the members and thank them for coming
Introduce the topic and explain why it's important
Run through your opening remarks/presentation
Pose questions to get members views and get them to participate
Draw to a conclusion
Agree any follow up action
Thank members for coming and advertise next discussion

After the discussion / evaluation
Work out what worked
Work out what didn't work
Make changes if necessary
Review organisational matters - could it be done better?
Review your publicity/advertising - what improvements could you make?
Plan your next discussion meeting

CONTACT DETAILS
• The UNISON contact for PFI courses is Frank Knox.
Learning and Organising Services
1 Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9AJ
Email: f.knox@unison.co.uk

PFI documents

Challenging the Private Finance Initiative - a branch guide
14 February 2002 An in-depth coursebook for branches involved in PFI. The guide outlines UNISON's policy and strategy on the private finance initiative. It is intended to be used by all branches whose members could be the subject of a PFI scheme.
Download Challenging the Private Finance Initiative

A web of private interest
24 June 2002 Report on how the Big Five acccountancy firms influence and profit from privatisation policy
Download A web of private interest

Privatising Halls of Residence - A Positively Public briefing
16 April 2002 Many universities are privatising their halls of residence, to avoid borrowing capital to improve or build halls themselves. But students and staff pick up the bill - jobs have gone and rents have risen sharply. Students may have to pay more each week and for more weeks in a year.
Download Privatising Halls of Residence

Refinancing: profiteering from public services
14 March 2002 Cutting the cost of financing a PFI contract can achieve a big increase in profitability for the contractor
Full document..

Understanding the Private Finance Initiative - the essential school governor's guide to PFI
7 January 2002 An authoritative guide to understanding the Private Finance Initiative aimed at school governors who are faced with making decisions on whether or not to pursue PFI schemes locally. A 40 page A4 booklet featuring step by step advice and action points.
Download Understanding the Private Finance Initiative

Contracting Culture - from CCT to PPPs
22 October 2001 An academic report for UNISON which analyses key developments in privatisation of public services and provides an extensive literature review. This is a reference item and is not suitable for widespread distribution
Download 12080.pdf

Positively Public Charter
2 March 2001 An A5 8pp production highllighting specific campaign demands following the principles set out in the positively public manifesto. Meant to be used as campaign tool to encourage local and regional employers to support UNISON's broader positively public campaign. The leaflet also comes with a prepaid reply postcard for quick response
Download Positively Public Charter

Public Services/Private Finance booklet
28 February 2001 This A4 36 page report on the government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) draws on the procurement documents for a number of PFI schemes currently in progress in the local authority sector and on government policy state-ments and guidance. Download Public Services/Private Finance