Revising public procurement legislation to stop the publicly financed race to the bottom on working conditions
16.12.2022
Question for written answer E-004097/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Agnes Jongerius (S&D), Dennis Radtke (PPE), Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left), René Repasi (S&D), Marc Angel (S&D), Milan Brglez (S&D), Francisco Guerreiro (Verts/ALE), Aurore Lalucq (S&D), Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), Nora Mebarek (S&D), Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D), Marianne Vind (S&D), Matjaž Nemec (S&D), Gabriele Bischoff (S&D), Monika Beňová (S&D), Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D), Anne-Sophie Pelletier (The Left), Dorien Rookmaker (ECR), Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE), Vera Tax (S&D), Manon Aubry (The Left), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (The Left), Leila Chaibi (The Left), Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left), Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left), Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D), Dietmar Köster (S&D), Eric Andrieu (S&D), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Karsten Lucke (S&D), Maria Noichl (S&D), Günther Sidl (S&D), Özlem Demirel (The Left), Hannes Heide (S&D), Evelyn Regner (S&D), Mohammed Chahim (S&D), Malte Gallée (Verts/ALE), Paul Tang (S&D), Estrella Durá Ferrandis (S&D), Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Ilan De Basso (S&D), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Monika Vana (Verts/ALE), Katrin Langensiepen (Verts/ALE), Matthias Ecke (S&D), Alicia Homs Ginel (S&D), Lara Wolters (S&D), Klára Dobrev (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Margrete Auken (Verts/ALE), Yannick Jadot (Verts/ALE), Chris MacManus (The Left), Damien Carême (Verts/ALE), Lina Gálvez Muñoz (S&D), Carina Ohlsson (S&D), Cindy Franssen (PPE), Maria Grapini (S&D), Jens Geier (S&D), Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE)
On 5 December 2022, the Commission received an open letter from UNI Europa, the European Services Workers Union. The letter was supported by several MEPs from different political groups and called for a clear political undertaking to ensure that companies can only be awarded public contracts if they have implemented collective agreements. It also called for a swift legislative initiative.
This call reflects the fact that public contracts too often bring about precarious and unfair working conditions for the people working on them.
In the light of this:
- 1.When will the Commission respond to the open letter?
- 2.How does the Commission aim to stop the publicly financed race to the bottom on working conditions that we are currently witnessing?
- 3.How will the Commission ensure that public procurement legislation can require companies to follow a generally non-binding multi-employer collective agreement if they apply for a public tender, or alternatively, how will it ensure that authorities can give preference to a company-level collective agreement when awarding public contracts?
Submitted: 16.12.2022