Unison Herts

Leading on from the standing ovation given to sacked workers from the private contractor Gate Gourmet and morning debates on employment rights, general secretary Dave Prentis told the packed fringe "When it came to privatisation, school meals were the prime target".
Asking how we got from the welfare state to the infamous turkey twizzler, he quoted from the UNISON sponsored report 'School Meals Markets and Quality' "The story of school meals is also the story of public services in Britain.....it reflects the drive for deregulation, privatisation and the reintroductionof markets into the provision of public services".

Prentis called for an end to PFI for school meals, which puts costs above quality. "Children will only get decent food if we invest in training the workforce and making sure that every school has the facility to cook meals from scratch, using fresh ingredients" he said.

Also speaking at the fringe were Mary Cray MP, who has introduced a private members bill on school meals, Steve Davis from Cardiff university who wrote the report and NUT general secretary Steve Sinnot with UNISON NEC member Irene Stacy in the chair.

The statistics around inadequate school meals show 16% of the UK's 2-15 year olds are obese or overweight. But there is concern not just about weight but disease as well. Illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and anaemia are increasing in UK children.

While much of the talk revolved around the statistics, Prentis and Sinnot made it clear that these ills were a direct result of market policies in the provision of school meals. "Members who worl for private contractor in schools are told to minimise cost and maximise profit.

Sinnot pointed out that although markets are meant to be good for riding down costs and improving competition in provision, the main costs cut are those relating to the equipment and the workers and the PFI world in schools is one of the least competitive there is.

PFI is also extremely restrictive for schools, noted Prentis. "There contracts are very rigid and private companies are squeezing out every penny. Schools are tied in for extraordinary lengths of time, with up to 30 year contracts. It would cost millions to get out of these contracts".

Echoing Prentis concerns on life expectancy, Cray called for radical reform and eneded her speech with a plea to union members, parents and MPs to ensure "our kids outlive their parents".