The British Labour Party and its union allies have moved one step closer to a compromise in thee running battle over the Tony Blair's Private Finance Initiative. In late night negotiations with the finance and transportation secretaries this Sunday, unions won a commitment that measures would be passed to protect the rights, wages, and working conditions of employees in public services that are contracted out to private companies. Although Unison---one of the largest trade unions---scaled down their opposition to the government's privatization plans following this guarantee, the GMB general union left the talks vowing a fight in Parliament.
See CHRISTOPHER ADAMS, Financial Times, September 30, 2001