PRIVATISATION AND ECONOMISM - AN INVESTIGATION AMONGST PRODUCERS IN 2PRIVATIZED PUBLIC UTILITIES IN BRITAIN

Both academic and political debate about the effects of privatisation upon employees in privatised companies has taken place in something of an empirical vacuum. In particular, there is a lack of systematic enq uiries into the major privatised utilities. Despite the lack of eviden ce, a number of claims have been advanced, both about the impact of pr ivatisation upon the political attitudes of employees, and about its e ffects on working conditions, worker motivation and behaviour. This pa per presents the results of a survey of 442 employees in two privatise d public utilities. It is divided into two parts, looking first at the more general social and political attitudes of these employees, then presenting their views on the impact of privatisation on the company t hey work for, and on their working lives. The findings reported here l end little support either to new right claims about privatisation's tr ansformative powers or to the view that 'for most people . . . privati sation will make very little difference at all' (Saunders and Harris, 1990).