Often, the work that is being bid out or proposed is not the same as the tasks currently being performed by the public employees doing the work. Not adequately accounting for omitted tasks can lead to hidden charges for extra work, so cost comparisons are not accurate. This is important where decision-makers claim that significant cost savings can be realized through contracting out. Company and industry research. Once bidders are known, information on their past performance and company history may be obtained in order to challenge their fitness for performing the work in question.
Some industries are replete with horror stories involving contractor neglect and abuse.
Submitting an in-house bid. In some cases, employees and managers work together to submit a bid to compete with the contractors' bids. If all efforts fail, the work will be contracted out to a private company or, in some cases, a non-profit organization. It is not unusual for a service contract to require preferential hiring of displaced public employees. Where public employees are not covered by collective bargaining legislation, privatization would give these employees new rights under the National Labor Relations Act.