The construction sector is awaiting Brussels' delayed procurement reform, hoping stricter rules on subcontracting will drive broader change across the industry
The European Commission’s long-delayed overhaul of EU public procurement rules, now expected in September, arrives at a delicate moment for construction, where employers and unions have spent years warning that cascading subcontracting chains have become vehicles for fraud, wage dumping and eroding workers’ rights.
The revision of the 2014 procurement directive is expected to simplify what officials describe as a fragmented legal framework. It comes as employers and unions converged on the European Parliament this week for a joint event on limiting subcontracting in public procurement.
Social dialogue, unified voice
The session was co-organised by the European Builders Confederation, representing employers, and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers, representing labour – a display of unity between the two sides of the sector’s social dialogue.
