G4S: Catastrophic corporate failure..
- Thread starter Hollis
- Start date
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
Isn't it comforting to know that these guys have recently been taking over the running of secure psychiatric units?
Jeff Robinson
Marxist-Lentilist: Jackboots and Jackfruit
They should all be fucking killed.
Who's going to sign off for three weeks work, with a guarantee of no work at the end? Only people likely to go for this is students, pensioners, and people who aren't able to claim benefits (mostly immigrants). This doesn't suprise me in the slightest.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Except even if you got taken on, it wasn't guaranteed for the whole three weeks, it's zero hours contracts. So you might get work 3 weeks or for 3 days or one shift. No wonder people aren't jumping at the 'opportunity'.
Epitomises all that is wrong with the neo-liberal economic model, and this time i think the public are way ahead of the politicians: cool Nick, the Glasto goer while he forces unemployed people around the globe to work for nothing is I predict going to become as unpopular as Diamond and co,
oh, for an effective left to make hay with all this, bulletin boards aren't enough...
oh, for an effective left to make hay with all this, bulletin boards aren't enough...
taffboy gwyrdd
Embrace the confusion!
Well they've ballsed up on this one, but even after the fine it will be circa a £1/4bn for the contract and £24k ish per low wage worker they hire.
Worldwide they continue to run a lot of services at rip off prices, presumably with oils wheeled by frequent corrupt bungs of the likes solicited by the departed tory Cruddas.
All in all it's hard to see that as a failure. They make fuckloads of money. It's a failure to deliver service in this instance, but there are plenty of others where they do that. Making money is a way higher objective than proper delivery when push comes to shove.
I know you know this, but I think it's important to always say that capitalists making money is a success in it's own terms, otherwise people (not here generally) can become distracted by the real issue.
For example, people endlessly moan about mass transport as if it is "public" and exists to get one from A to B reliably at a reasonable price. It's the most basic of misconceptions.
Hollis
bloody furious
From the independent..
'
'As it has taken over company after company, it has become so ubiquitous that it is, for larger public contracts, almost the only option. Barclays and the banks are too big to fail; G4S is so big and the work it does so vital, that it doesn't seem to matter if it fails. Someone else – in this case, the British Army – will pick up the slack.'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blame-games-the-olympics-security-debacle-7944449.html
'
'As it has taken over company after company, it has become so ubiquitous that it is, for larger public contracts, almost the only option. Barclays and the banks are too big to fail; G4S is so big and the work it does so vital, that it doesn't seem to matter if it fails. Someone else – in this case, the British Army – will pick up the slack.'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blame-games-the-olympics-security-debacle-7944449.html
silverfish
Sprinkling glitter on turds
I keep hearing/seeing this phrase "too big to fail"
Does it have a specific meaning in socio-political-economic science. Is it part of a "model" Who first coined it? Or it just the natural end point for out of control capitalism?
Does it have a specific meaning in socio-political-economic science. Is it part of a "model" Who first coined it? Or it just the natural end point for out of control capitalism?
The thing is, the Olympics starts in, what, 2, 3 weeks? I wouldn't think there's any chance, at this stage, with the best will in the world and even with the army drafted in, of organising anything less than an expensive patch up job. Who really wants soldiers walking around doing security? One of the big things about the Olympics, is that it's a good advert for Britain, I think tourism is a pretty big part of the economy. And good security plays a big role in letting this country look good. That's without the actual role of security, given how much the terrorist threat has been talked up.
Hopefully this will make people take notice. Because, private companies cock up deporting people from this country, or in a prison, so what, really, people don't care about foreign people or prisoners getting hurt, but they do care about tourists.
Mind you, at least the papers will hopefully be full of Theresa May taking the flak. I quite enoy seeing her defending the indefensible. I have a grudging admiration for her capacity it. I can't believe she didn't think to check that things were all going well, given that presumably the Olympics would be a fair way up on the Home Office's radar at the moment.
Hopefully this will make people take notice. Because, private companies cock up deporting people from this country, or in a prison, so what, really, people don't care about foreign people or prisoners getting hurt, but they do care about tourists.
Mind you, at least the papers will hopefully be full of Theresa May taking the flak. I quite enoy seeing her defending the indefensible. I have a grudging admiration for her capacity it. I can't believe she didn't think to check that things were all going well, given that presumably the Olympics would be a fair way up on the Home Office's radar at the moment.
Hollis
bloody furious
I quite like this, lets have a big military jamboree, with afew people running around in tracksuits in the middle.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
Yeah but we'd probably have to subcontract G4S to do the killing for us, and needless to say they'd cock it up. It seems like even suicide would be a bit too complicated for these fucking clowns to handle.
Sadly, there's no motivation for them to sort their shit out because the more they fail, the more work the government gives them. It's like giving your dog a treat every time it bites somebody, sooner or later that dog is gonna bite your balls off.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Interesting piece in Private Eye about the cheapskate promoters of Olympics related events after all the fucking money that is being thrown at them are often getting musicians to play for free.
How does a G4S manager not realise that the promises made by their company are not going to be delivered with this scale of crapness? They have to be so far removed from the people they are supposed to be managing and, as remarked, it means they just don't fucking care as long as the cash keeps rolling in.
How does a G4S manager not realise that the promises made by their company are not going to be delivered with this scale of crapness? They have to be so far removed from the people they are supposed to be managing and, as remarked, it means they just don't fucking care as long as the cash keeps rolling in.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Let alone all the stewards and "ambassadors" who are supposed to do 12 hour shifts for nowt because of the Olympic Spirit or something. If they really had the Olympic Spirit they'd be gouging as much money as possible.
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Friend of mine says they came to the college he works at, had several training sessions, interviews and exams. The ones he spoke to had letter saying they've been taken on and nothing since, being taken on and what to do, being taken on then further letter abut what to do. Just generally badly organised. He got the impression most who did all the training weren't getting to go.
They are, of course, being a private contractor, not getting paid a single penny because they haven't fulfilled their contract, right?
Oh wait...
agricola
a genuine importer of owls
TBH it was probably always the intention to scrimp as much as possible on training levels and the number of staff provided to the Olympics (after all, G4S would make a lot more money out of the contract that way)... all that has happened is that, for once, the Government have declined to see the funny side of such corporate japes.
free spirit
more tea vicar?
giving the contract to one company was really the mistake here, as there simply isn't any company that can supply that number of trained experienced SIA staff themselves.
what they should have done IMO is to directly employ a small experienced events management team for each site, and award individual contracts to cover the stewarding and security at each site, with a maximum of 2-3 contracts per company. That way each company would be operating well within their existing capabilities, using their experienced existing workforce, instead of expecting one company to attempt to recruit, train and manage thousands of new staff specifically for this role.
This basically was always going to be a horrendous clusterfuck from the minute they awarded the entire thing to G4S, especially when the apparently upped the contract from 2000 to 10,000 with 6 months to go.
Daft thing is, I bet there are thousands of experienced SIA staff twiddling their thumbs over the olympic period all round the country who just don't happen to work for G4S, yet they're going to bring the army in instead of using them, presumably because G4S don't want to divvy the work up / bid too low to pay proper wages + admin + profit margins.
what they needed to have done really was to borrow some experience from the UK festival industry instead of employing a bunch of suits.
what they should have done IMO is to directly employ a small experienced events management team for each site, and award individual contracts to cover the stewarding and security at each site, with a maximum of 2-3 contracts per company. That way each company would be operating well within their existing capabilities, using their experienced existing workforce, instead of expecting one company to attempt to recruit, train and manage thousands of new staff specifically for this role.
This basically was always going to be a horrendous clusterfuck from the minute they awarded the entire thing to G4S, especially when the apparently upped the contract from 2000 to 10,000 with 6 months to go.
Daft thing is, I bet there are thousands of experienced SIA staff twiddling their thumbs over the olympic period all round the country who just don't happen to work for G4S, yet they're going to bring the army in instead of using them, presumably because G4S don't want to divvy the work up / bid too low to pay proper wages + admin + profit margins.
what they needed to have done really was to borrow some experience from the UK festival industry instead of employing a bunch of suits.
I wasn't even vaguely interested in the "performance enhancement drugs n corporate marketing Olympics" until this happened. Now I'm right bucked up... looking forward to colossal cock ups galor as the event really gets into its stride !
In so many ways this cock up is so much more emblematic of 2012 Britain than the strange opening ceremony scenery with its "bucolic green and pleasant land" pre industrial schtik ! Great stuff. Does anyone know what the "vile act" committed on an aquatic creature by a guard was ? I wouldn't want to be "body searched " by these bozoz !
In so many ways this cock up is so much more emblematic of 2012 Britain than the strange opening ceremony scenery with its "bucolic green and pleasant land" pre industrial schtik ! Great stuff. Does anyone know what the "vile act" committed on an aquatic creature by a guard was ? I wouldn't want to be "body searched " by these bozoz !
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Yes I felt the first stirrings of enthusiasm for the whole performance today, too.
It almost needs a separate thread: Our Great British Olympics - its finest achievements.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
I didn't think they were getting fined? IIRC the £20m 'penalty' is actually just the amount G4S won't get because they're supplying less security people than intended. I might be wrong, but I thought that was the case.
Honestly. The country is going to look like a bloody military state.
Hunt: 'Failure completely normal'
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