The European Commission today published its proposal to revise the EU’s public procurement rules. Representing over 17% of the EU’s GDP and affecting transport sectors such as ports, airports, public transport and other public services like school buses, public procurement is critical to the working conditions of millions of transport workers in Europe. While the Commission’s proposal moves in the right direction in certain aspects, it is clear that more must be done to ensure that public money only goes to companies that provide high-quality employment and respect workers’ rights.
It is certainly positive that the Commission explicitly recognises good working conditions and the promotion of social dialogue as a strategic policy objective of public procurement. Furthermore, the removal of the possibility of awarding public contracts solely on the basis of price is a welcome step towards ending the race-to-the-bottom business model prevalent in many sectors. Under the Commission’s proposal, public buyers will have to take into account quality criteria to ensure good value for money, including skills and organisation of the workforce. It is also highly welcome that the proposal does not force public buyers to tender, allowing for in-house and public-to-public provision.
However, despite the ambition to promote good working conditions and social dialogue, the proposal falls short in several critical ways. Firstly, the provisions on fighting abusive subcontracting remain weak, with no joint and several liability for the subcontracting chain. Similarly, public buyers are not obligated to exclude economic operators that have violated employment law or workers’ rights. It is hard to understand why the Commission has not made this sort of serious violation of fundamental rights an obligatory reason for a company to be excluded for a public contract.
ETF cautiously welcomes the provisions on protecting critical infrastructure, including transport. For many years ETF has been warning about the possible problems of third-country entities owning and operating critical infrastructure. We underline that the safety and resilience of critical transport infrastructure depends on a high-skilled and motivated workforce that is informed and consulted through their trade unions.
While this proposal is flawed in several ways, it provides a good starting point for the Parliament and Council to put ambitions into action. ETF will be working with its national affiliates and the rest of the European trade union movement to push for a final Regulation that ensures that public money does not go to exploitative employers, but rather prioritises good value for money and high quality jobs.
