TUC leader calls for end to outsourcing ‘rip-off’

A senior union leader has called for an end to the “outsourcing rip-off” which he warned was treating hundreds of thousands of workers as second class citizens

A senior union leader has called for an end to the “outsourcing rip-off” which he warned was treating hundreds of thousands of workers as second class citizens.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said chief executives and shareholders of outsourcing companies were “raking it in” at the expense of workers, service users and taxpayers.

In his keynote speech to the TUC Congress in Brighton, he said: “It is time to end the outsourcing rip-off. Time for real public services not private profit, and time for the Government to deliver what they promised.”

Outsourced workers delivered vital public services such as feeding patients, protecting the public and cleaning trains, but were getting a raw deal, said Mr Nowak, adding: “Everywhere, the same raw deal. Bounced from one private company to another, insecure contracts, no proper sick pay, bare minimum pensions and a lack of basic respect on the job.”

Britain has felt “broken” for many people, with pay stretched thin, high streets boarded up, young people priced out of housing and public services under strain, he said.

He attacked politicians who “stirred up” division, fear and hatred, and named “self-proclaimed workers’ champion” Nigel Farage, saying: “Who better to take on the establishment than a privately educated, ex-banker, multi- millionaire?

“Who better to rattle the cages of Westminster complacency, than the 30-year career politician leading a party of Tory has-beens?

“And who better to clean up politics than the man who sips champagne and eats oysters while taking dodgy donations from foreign funders?

“Reform do not, never have and never will represent the interests of working people.”

Mr Nowak urged the Government to “face down” opponents of new workers’ rights, calling for an economy that benefits everybody, “not just the uber rich”.

Published: 14/09/2026 by Radio NewsHub