A recent European-wide survey conducted by the European trade union, UNI Europa, has found that a majority of respondents, including over 80% of Germans, want to exclude companies from public contracts if they underpay workers or break up trade unions.
According to the survey, 81% of Germans and 83% of Europeans in total support the exclusion of such companies. Furthermore, three out of four Germans (74%) believe that government agencies should give preference to companies with collective bargaining agreements when awarding public contracts.
“This is a pressing call to action” said Oliver Roethig, regional secretary of UNI Europa, in a statement. “The European Commission should listen to European voters: public funds should support high-quality jobs, not companies that undermine fair competition and break up trade unions.”
Roethig also warned that more and more European companies are adopting anti-union tactics, similar to those used in the United States.
Almost three-quarters of European citizens want a public procurement system that strengthens wages and working conditions through collective bargaining agreements, according to the survey. The upcoming reform of the public procurement system by the European Commission should take this demand into account, Roethig added.
The survey, conducted by the market research institute Opinea, gathered responses from over 6,080 people in six European countries: the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Spain.