Over a thousand people working in the cleaning, security and hospitality sectors from all over Europe will gather in Brussels on Tuesday 1 October to call for changes to the EU's public procurement rules and demand decent working conditions and fair wages.
The demonstrators will all gather at Place Jean Rey in Brussels' European Quarter at noon on Tuesday. The static rally is expected to last until about 14:00, with speeches from workers, union leaders and MEPs, a policy spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
"Half of public tenders in the EU are awarded solely based on the lowest price, often due to procurement rules that favour the lowest price," according to research by the European trade union federation UNI Europe. "This creates cut-throat competition between companies, often at the expense of workers throughout the entire private sector."
The demonstration will bring together essential workers from at least nine European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Spain and Finland), as well as European trade unions.
Race to the bottom
They are denouncing the "race to the bottom" for working conditions and calling for reforms to the European directive on public procurement (the contracting of private firms by public authorities to deliver goods and services) that "strengthen collective bargaining, improve working conditions and guarantee quality services to citizens."
Public procurement amounts to €2 trillion, around 14% of the European Union’s GDP. Millions of workers are employed in the EU through these contracts, and standards created through public procurement influence pay and working conditions throughout the private sector.
Now, essential workers days are coming together in Brussels to push for much-needed reforms of the EU public procurement directive, which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced for her next term.
Workers complain of low wages, dangerous workloads and a lack of recognition for keeping communities safe, clean and fed during the Covid-19 pandemic’s darkest days. They demand that public contracts should only be given to companies that respect collective agreements.
ANNOUNCEMENT🇪🇺: On 1 October, essential workers from 6 countries across Europe – cleaners, security guards and catering workers – will stand together in Brussels to protest the race to the bottom on working conditions in their sectors.
Join in support: https://t.co/TdCS6eJQD9 pic.twitter.com/EvYWtBw1rY — UNI Europa (@UNI_Europa) August 12, 2024
In the meantime, more than 100 world-leading economists – including professors Thomas Piketty and Isabella Weber – have written a joint letter to support the essential workers' demonstration.
In the letter, economists say that "current procurement practices – with their dominant focus on the lowest price in tenders – create market conditions that allow bidders to disregard social criteria, such as labour rights and fair working conditions, which are essential for sustainable economic growth and good jobs."
"As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a revision to public procurement guidelines in her next mandate, we support essential workers and European trade unions in their fight to ensure fair labour standards, strengthen collective bargaining and workers’ voice within these outsourced services."
What about transport disruption?
As the demonstration is a static one, it is not expected to cause many disruptions in Brussels. Belgium's national railway operator SNCB is not expecting demonstration-related issues to its services, and neither are Flemish and Walloon public transport operators De Lijn and TEC.
Disruptions to buses, trams and metros are also expected to remain limited as Brussels public transport operator STIB has "no indications" that its staff will participate in the action. "The inconvenience should therefore be limited to local diversions or interruptions in the vicinity of the demonstration," a spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
However, major issues are expected at Brussels Airport Zaventem and Charleroi Airport on Tuesday: nearly all flights departing from Brussels Airport will be cancelled on Tuesday, while Charleroi will operate at a reduced capacity with many cancelled flights and extended waiting times.
