Return campaign “Insource Now!” from UNISON and RMT against profiteering in the public sector and the “evil” of outsourcing in Great Britain

“UNISON and the RMT are jointly launching a major new campaign calling on the Government to accelerate the return of public services to public ownership. (…) Every day that services continue to be outsourced is another day that public money is being diverted from frontline services and too many workers continue to suffer lower pay, poorer working conditions and greater insecurity.

It's time to move from promises to actions.

That's why UNISON has partnered with rail union RMT on a brand new campaign - 'Insource Now!' – connected for better public services...” English.

UNISON press release dated 24th

August 2026 and more information about the start of the campaign on August 1st.

September 2026: The Prime Minister must fight the “plague” of outsourcing “ The government must keep its election promise to accompany “the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation”.

Trade unions are demanding the Prime Minister tackle the “evil” of outsourcing as spending on private contracts soars.

The government must make good on its election promise to oversee "the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation" as new analysis shows spending on private contractors on some key public services has doubled since Labor came to power, unions said today (Tuesday).

Research from UNISON and RMT found that the value of outsourcing contracts awarded or renewed for soft facilities management, including cleaning, catering and security, reached £6.2bn in 2025*.

That's up from the £3.5bn in 2024 when the Labor government came to power, and the 2026 figure has already reached £6.6bn, according to unions.

The results are published as UNISON and RMT today Insource Now! - a joint campaign that calls for more public services to be provided in-house again and not outsourced to for-profit companies. (…) The two unions explain that outsourcing often leads to a race to the bottom as companies seek to provide services at lower costs and maximize their profits.

This means that already poorly paid workers are often exploited with unfair wages, while services deteriorate and citizens receive less value for their money.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, Labor promised in its manifesto to embark on the biggest wave of outsourcing of public services in a generation, and in June ministers declared that “the age of outsourcing is over”.

However, UNISON and RMT point out that figures from official contract registers suggest this is not happening.

Unions have commissioned further analysis, the results of which will be summarized in a report in time for the Labor Party conference later this month. (…) The “Insource Now!” campaign from UNISON and RMT aims to drive the return of further contracts to the public sector.

The launch of the campaign is timed to coincide with MPs' return to Parliament today following the summer recess and ahead of the political party conference season.

Dozens of outsourced workers will attend today's launch event, with many sharing how working under substandard contracts has affected their lives.

They will appear alongside UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan and RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey, who will set out the campaign's aims...”

RMT press release dated January 1st

September 2026 (machine translated) “Insource Now!” – the campaign website #InsourceNow #EndRailOutsourcing The article return campaign “Insource Now!” by UNISON and RMT against profiteering in the public sector and the “evil” of outsourcing in the UK appeared first on LabourNet Germany.