UNIONS have warned of widespread industrial action after the leader of Southampton City Council threatened to outsource, externalise and privatise a raft of key services.

Councillor Alec Samuels, the city’s most powerful local politician, revealed services such as rubbish collection and disposal could be sold off and run by private companies in the future.

Privatisation is seen as a way to save taxpayer’s money as the council faces a £13m black hole in their finances, blamed on soaring fuel and energy prices and the general economic downturn.

Union bosses yesterday said the council’s 167 waste staff feared for their jobs and any move to privatise services would be fought with ballots and strikes.

In a blog posted on the Conservative Party national website, Cllr Samuels wrote: “For ideological reasons we are going for outsourcing, externalisation, privatisation, wherever possible and sensible, especially but not exclusively in the leisure and recreation area. Natural-ly there is a lot of in-house resistance.”

He continued: “Waste collection and disposal and crematoria and such activities are candidates for the future.”

Unite branch secretary Mark Wood said outsourcing waste services might mean a return to unpopular alternate weekly bin collections as a private firm could look to introduce its own cost-cutting measures.

“We are fully aware the Conservative dogma to privatise for privatisation’s sake; just to look after their friends in big business,” he said.

“It is the firm view of Unite that privatisation does not necessarily deliver value for money; on the contrary, private companies very often make their profits from taxpayers by driving down quality and service levels.”

He added: “We continue to extend an offer to council leaders to work with us to deliver good quality, value for money services for the benefit of all Southampton residents.

“Through Conservative dogma we are more likely, however, to enter into an extended period of confrontation and industrial dispute.”

Gosport Borough Council privatised its waste collection service more than 15 years ago. Verdant Group, the company awarded the contract, said the borough had seen a sharp increase in recycling rates over the past few years.

Managing director Roger Edwards said outsourcing a local authority's recycling and waste services was becoming commonplace because of the benefits it can bring, such as cost efficiencies and improved productivity.

“Recycling and waste services are some of the most visible manifestations of a council's service for local residents and, as many councils have found, a private sector partner such as Verdant can enhance those services,” he said.

Southampton’s waste team collects more than 120,000 tonnes of rubbish each year and is on target for a recycling rate of 30 per cent this financial year.

Southampton’s latest £13m funding gap is the difference between its income and what it needs to spend to keep services such as libraries, day centres and leisure centres open.

Cllr Samuels said privatisation would only introduced if it was in the best interests of the Southampton taxpayer.

Liberal-Democrat leader Councillor Jill Baston: “It seems the Conservatives are looking to just privatise everything that moves and selling off the rest for what seems to be purely political reasons.”