'Race to the bottom': EU public tendering cuts pay and rights

The award of public contracts in the EU amounts to €1.9 trillion per year.

Contracts are put out to tender, and won by whichever company the national, regional or local public body deems fit, although in half of cases they are won by whoever offers the lowest price.

The reality on the ground is that by not including social provisions, the 2014 EU directive regulating public procurement...