Low-paid workers are calling on Ireland to use its time at the helm of the EU’s rotating council presidency to stop billions in public contracts from driving down wages and eroding working conditions.

Cleaners, catering staff, and others whose jobs often depend on government tenders are rallying in Dublin on Wednesday as Ireland takes on EU negotiations of a review of public procurement rules in September.

Trade unions are pressuring the Irish government to ensure that stronger protection provisions for workers are included in the final reform.

“This is an opportunity for EU leaders to make a real difference in the lives of workers amid a rampant cost-of-living crisis,” said Oliver Roethig, the trade union UNI Europa’s regional secretary.

At stake is whether public money should continue to flow mainly to the cheapest bidder, or whether companies seeking state-backed contracts should also have to show they provide decent wages and collective bargaining.

According to current EU procurement law, governments are encouraged to look at the overall value of a bid, not just the lowest price. This means they can choose a company that may be slightly more expensive if it offers better quality, stronger social standards or higher environmental protections.

For the Commission, the working conditions of staff carrying out a public contract can be treated as a relevant consideration in that contract, a spokesperson said.

A parallel demonstration is taking place in Paris, targeting French officials involved in the reform, especially Stéphane Séjourné, the European Commissioner in charge of the file.

So far, much of the debate on public procurement in the country and other member states has focused on ‘Buy European‘ provisions, or stricter rules in strategic sectors to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and support European industry.

But unions, academics, civil society groups and employers themselves are trying to broaden the debate, saying that Europe should not only ask where goods and services come from but also under what conditions they are produced.

A report from the EU’s financial watchdog also found that the current rules actually decreased competition. “Good employers with collective agreements stopped applying for public tenders as they can’t compete in this race to the bottom,” Roethig added.

The European Parliament, which will have to approve the Commission’s revised rules, and the European Economic and Social Committee have both called for procurement rules to respect collective agreements and exclude companies that violate the rights of workers.

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