EU: Public procurement, an issue to watch

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen intends to revise the EU’s Public Procurement Directive and trade unions are seizing this opportunity to demand that contracts only be given to undertakings that engage with unions and have collective bargaining agreements.

Why it matters: While trade unions drive the narrative that that public procurements contracts are all about poorly paid cleaners, security guards, and people working in cafeterias, the reality is that the bulk of the money goes elsewhere, such as on IT services

Driving the news: UNI Europa is organizing a demonstration on October 1 in Brussels, demanding a “social conditionality” clause in procurement contracts.

What they’re saying: Oliver Roethig, Regional Secretary of UNI Europa, argues that current procurement rules drive a race to the bottom for working conditions, saying:

“The EU’s current public procurement rules make companies compete for the lowest price, often at the expense of their workers. Instead, public money should be an investment into good jobs and clean, safe and healthy communities. Now, essential workers are coming to Brussels to demand exactly that: public contracts have to respect collective bargaining. By changing EU public procurement rules, we can begin to put a stop to the race to the bottom.”

The HRPG view: Just 15% of the EU private sector is unionised, so including a “collective bargaining clause” in public sector contracts would exclude 85% of the private sector from bidding for such contracts. It should not be the job of the public authorities to do the unions’ recruiting job for them.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

EU’s briefing note Public procurement here. It says:

Every year, over 250 000 public authorities in the EU spend around 14% of GDP (around €2 trillion per year) on the purchase of services, works and supplies. In many sectors such as energy, transport, waste management, social protection and the provision of health or education services, public authorities are the principal buyers.