Bermuda Industrial Union head Chris Furbert wants Government to explain proposals for privatising public services.

Responding to last Friday’s Budget, in which Finance Minister Bob Richards proposed a Public Bodies Reform Act to examine privatising, mutualising or outsourcing, Mr Furbert questioned how the move could realistically rein in costs.

“It’s the opinion of the BIU that, respectfully, the Minister has put the cart before the horse,” said Mr Furbert, calling for “dialogue with all stakeholders” before moving ahead with reforms.

In his Budget statement, Mr Richards said the new legislation would enable the creation of an Efficiency and Reform Authority to implement changes to public services and that the authority’s board would consist of seven members — five from the public and two representing unions.

“Why are we being put there?” Mr Furbert asked. “Five against two — when it comes down to a vote, that’s not as balanced as it should be.”

The union head called on Mr Richards to give the specifics for mutualisation, which he said had been set up elsewhere in the world, adding: “It’s our understanding that a lot of these systems are failing.”

Mr Furbert said the Minister “seems to believe that under mutualisation, the staff will have ownership”.

“In order for staff to have ownership, they have to have full ownership,” Mr Furbert said.

He called on Government to discuss the proposals in detail before going ahead with plans to “get rid of public services”.

In a statement issued by the BIU this afternoon, Mr Furbert called the planned Public Bodies Reform Act “premature, to say the least”.

“When we speak about meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders, we are referring to the general public, employers and the union before making these major decisions that will affect public services.”