Pressemeldungen - Unternehmensverantwortung & Lieferkettengesetz

Unleashing at the expense of the workers: NRW government removes human rights from public procurement law

Düsseldorf. The State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia has removed the obligation to provide evidence of compliance with international labour rights and environmental standards from the Tariff Adherence and Public Procurement Act (TVgG) of North Rhine-Westphalia. The amendment to the law abolishes a uniform national regulation that also aligns public procurement with human rights and environmental standards. Municipalities and provincial contracting authorities can still voluntarily request proof that labour rights and environmental standards have been complied with in the production of, for example, workwear. However, each municipality now has to develop its own regulation for sustainable procurement.

NRW loses pioneering role

From the point of view of the Alliance for Eco-Fair Procurement NRW, a network of non-governmental organisations, North Rhine-Westphalia has clearly lost its pioneering role with regard to modern, sustainability-oriented public procurement in Deuthttps://femnet-ev.de/administrator/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&layout=edit#schland. The state government is no longer using the purchasing power of the public sector to improve working conditions in global consumer goods production. It justifies itself by claiming that the ratification of the ILO core labour standards of Germany and by the EU directives as well as the Act against Restrictions of Competition (GWB) and the sub-threshold award regulation (UVgO) at federal level ensures that social-ecological standards are complied with in public procurement. ‘However, the amendment to the law no longer requires compliance with basic labour rights to be monitored,’ says Marie-Luise Lämmle of FEMNET, ‘and the ratification of Germany’s ILO core labour standards only concerns working conditions here – but not in the countries where, for example, a large part of workwear and IT hardware is produced’.

Distortion of competition through new rules

The new legislation distorts competition from the point of view of the civil society alliance, as it disadvantages companies that invest in the observance of international labour and human rights and have this proven and controlled by independent seal and monitoring organisations.

‘Occupational health and safety in Germany is also clearly regulated by law and not left to voluntary action’, says Jürgen Sokoll from Eine Welt Netz NRW. ‘When purchasing safety shoes, workwear or protective clothing for the employees of the occupational health and safety test NRW, shouldn’t those who produce these protective clothing in the globalised textile industry also have to be protected at the same time?’ asks Jürgen Sokoll.

Infiltrating the credibility of politics

The new procurement regime undermines the credibility of politics. Both the EU and the federal level assign a significant role to the public sector in achieving international agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Tax money must not be used to tolerate labour rights violations along global supply chains. Respect for human dignity does not end at the EU border and should be supported by a clear binding legal regime. The Alliance also criticises the reference to bureaucratisation ‘It is cynical for the state government to demand the so-called unleashing of the economy, often accepting massive exploitation and the persecution of trade unionists in the supply chains’, says Christian Wimberger of the Christian Initiative Romero (CIR).

High need for advice among buyers unresolved

Even if the state government emphasizes that socially responsible and ecological procurement is important to it, the new procurement law in NRW does not show how this goal should be implemented responsibly and credibly. According to a 2015 Kienbaum study, more than half of staff in public procurement entities complain about a "lack of provision of external information and/or support on the TVgG-NRW" (Kienbaum 2015: p. 63). The amended Public Procurement Act, which makes human and labour rights a voluntary matter, increases this support deficit even further.

If you have any questions about this press release, please contact:

Christian Wimberger
Christian Initiative Romero (CIR)
Schillerstraße 44a
48155 Münster
Tel: 0251 67441321
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Marie-Luise Lämmle
FEMNET Project Manager Fair Public Procurement
Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße 11
53113 Bonn
Tel. 0228 90917308
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Jürgen Sokoll
A World Network NRW
Barracks street 6
40213 Düsseldorf
Tel. 0211 6009252
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