European trade unions call for simplified pro-worker procurement rules

The European Commission has today confirmed it is evaluating the directives on public procurement ahead of their revision. Trade unions are calling for this revision to include easy-to-apply fair public procurement rules, that support quality jobs. The fact that unions have for the first time been included in the Commission’s expert group shows the growing recognition of the need to fix these rules to stop public money fuelling a race to the bottom for workers.

At the first meeting of the working group union representatives will demonstrate how the EU’s current rules lead to unfair competition, with some companies undercutting good employers on pay and working conditions. The ETUC is proposing that simplified quality criteria, such as respect for collective agreements, could reduce both bureaucratic burden and improve pay and conditions for workers.

In autumn 2024, over 1,000 essential workers from nine countries mobilised in Brussels for public procurement reform that improves pay and conditions for millions of workers across the EU. UNI Europa research shows that half of all public tenders across the EU are awarded solely based on the lowest price, often due to procurement rules.

These rules overlook the social costs to communities and undermine Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s promise of quality jobs, quality services and increasing collective bargaining coverage to “support fair wages, good working conditions, training and fair job transitions for workers”. In an open letter, over 100 leading world-leading economists, including Thomas Piketty and Isabella Weber, diagnosed that “current procurement practices – with their dominant focus on the lowest price in tenders – create market conditions that allow bidders to disregard social criteria.”

The European Trade Unions will be represented by ETUC legal expert Joakim Smedman and by UNI Europa Regional Secretary, Oliver Roethig.

Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said: “The assessment criteria must be simplified so that authorities are confident that they can choose companies offering fair wages and decent conditions covered by a collective agreement instead of the lowest price tender. The trade-off should be in favour of good jobs and asking companies if they have a collective agreement is a simple approach.

“The involvement of trade union representatives in the expert group is welcome first step. We will be aiming to change Europe’s public procurement rules so that decent employers will no longer be undercut by an unscrupulous race to the bottom on low pay, bad conditions and union busting.

“The perspective of workers and trade unions from across every sector will be key to diagnose the shortcomings of the current directives and to contribute to discussions at both policy and technical level, pinpointing good practices and identifying the necessary requirements for ensuring socially responsible business conducts and the promotion of collective bargaining.”

Oliver Roethig, Regional Secretary of UNI Europa, who represents European trade unions on the “Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement”, commented: “The EU’s current procurement rules are a labyrinth. To simplify them, the European Commission should include clear quality criteria, such as respect for collective bargaining agreements, in the revision of the public procurement directives. This will not just cut red tape for decent companies but improve pay and conditions for Europe’s millions of services workers.”