Privatising Life: Veolia’s Anti-human Mission

Veolia is a huge multinational corporation, employing in excess of 330,000 people worldwide. Like all capitalist enterprises, Veolia, in its bloodsucking pursuit of profits, is engaged in a perpetual struggle to force down its most vulnerable employees wages and conditions. This improves profit margins, further increases the gap between the richest and poorest in society, and ultimately contributes to the gutting of democracy (at both home and abroad).

Resistance from workers to such practices, all around the world, has been nothing short of consistent. For instance, last year, Veolia was forced out of Pensacola, Florida, by outraged transportation workers; while last May, Palestinian solidarity activists held a protest in Sheffield to oppose Veolia receiving further NHS waste disposal contracts. The award of such contracts represents the ongoing privatisation of all aspects of life by corporations like Veolia, which have demonstrated their contempt for human life.

Perhaps because of Veolia’s structural inability to contribute to the common good, its public relations (read: propaganda) team has had its work cut out trying to gloss over the multinational’s historical record. Yet the vigorous promotion of feel-good propaganda, like its sponsorship of the “Veolia Environnement” Wildlife Photographer of the Year, barely contains the stench of its affronts against humanity.

The opening page of Veolia Environnement’s British web site simply states: “A partner for people and planet.” What they fail to mention is the abusive nature of this partnership. Instead they boast of being the Climate Change winner of the Prince of Wale’s Business in the Community’s annual Awards for Excellence. Business in the Community merely being a group of powerful corporate leaders who celebrate their friends’ ongoing abusive commitment to privatise all aspects of public life.

Recycling workers in Sheffield — which is apparently England’s greenest city — know better than to fall for such green boulder dash. Squeezing profits from its employees is Veolia’s primary concern, not making the world a better place. Determined to profit from workers and the British tax-payer without doing anything useful, earlier this year Veolia sub-contracted their council sub-contract out to SOVA Recycling Ltd. SOVA then proceeded to sack six workers and cut the pay of the remaining 30. Thankfully, the workers stood their ground, engaging in a series of strikes which culminated in them launching an in-definite all-out strike on 23 June.

Just yesterday the fruits of the recycling workers’ resistance bore fruit, and the sacked staff were reinstated, and “A new bonus scheme is to be trialed, which promises workers up to £2 an hour wage increase across the board.” This is excellent news and just goes to provide another prime example of the power of the working class when they stand united against oppression and injustice.

Veolia’s ruling class management (see below) are however well versed at exploiting workers, and like the militarised schoolyard bully that they are, nothing makes them more angry than their intended victims standing up to them. Therefore it will be necessary that the determined and victorious recycling workers “remain vigilant and if the Council does not deliver in the negotiations over the next three weeks then the strike could be back on. Socialist Party members have been proud to actively support the strikers and will continue to campaign against Council cuts and the Privatisation rip-off.”

A brief sample of Veolia’s most significant board room interlocks