THE INCORPORATION OF SOCIAL AND LABOUR PARAMETERS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND PRIVATE CONTRACTING

THE SCCON PROJECT IS BASED ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE INCORPORATION OF SOCIAL AND LABOUR CRITERIA IN THE PROCUREMENT POLICIES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS AND CONTRACTING BETWEEN PRIVATE COMPANIES IS AN IDEAL LEGAL TOOL FOR THE PROMOTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LABOUR OBJECTIVES INCLUDED IN THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND IN THE ACTION PLAN OF THE EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS. TO THIS END, IT IS PROPOSED TO DEVELOP AN INTERDISCIPLINARY LEGAL STUDY THAT, WITH AN APPROACH FROM LABOUR, ADMINISTRATIVE AND COMMERCIAL LAW, ANALYSES THE LEGAL FEASIBILITY OF THE INCORPORATION OF SOCIAL AND LABOUR CLAUSES IN BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROCUREMENT AND THEIR SUITABILITY FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SOCIAL OBJECTIVES, SUCH AS THE QUALITY OF EMPLOYMENT AND THE REDUCTION OF INEQUALITIES, CONTAINED THEREIN. THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF THE PROJECT ALLOWS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH, COVERING THE INCORPORATION OF THESE CLAUSES IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CONTRACTING, AND THE STUDY OF THE INTERACTIONS THAT OCCUR BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS FROM MORE THAN ONE DISCIPLINE THAT CONVERGE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN PUBLIC CONTRACTING REGULATIONS PLACE SECTORAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AS A REFERENCE PARAMETER IN THE AWARDING AND EXECUTION OF CONTRACTS OR WHEN FREEDOM OF COMPETITION BECOMES, FOR SOME ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTIONS, AN INSURMOUNTABLE OBSTACLE. THUS, IN CONTRAST TO THE STUDIES CARRIED OUT TO DATE, WE PROPOSE A STUDY THAT WILL MOVE FROM A BASIC RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE, CONSISTING OF REVISITING THE FUNCTION OF THE CONTRACT AS A LEGAL CATEGORY AND ITS BORDERS WITH GENERAL SCOPE REGULATIONS, TOWARDS AN APPLIED PERSPECTIVE WITH THE AIM OF OFFERING RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMPILING GOOD PRACTICES THAT PROMOTE THE INCORPORATION OF SOCIAL AND LABOUR CLAUSES IN CONTRACTING AND THUS OBTAIN AN IMPACT NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF GENERATING KNOWLEDGE BUT ALSO FAVOURING TANGIBLE SOCIAL ADVANCES. TO THIS END, AN ANALYSIS OF THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT ON TWO LEVELS. THUS, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, WE WILL STUDY THE RULES THAT REGULATE THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS TYPE OF CLAUSES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR CONTRACTS ACT, APPROVED IN 2017 AND WHICH SHOULD REPRESENT A QUALITATIVE LEAP, ASSESSING ITS EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION AND IDENTIFYING THE OBSTACLES ENCOUNTERED IN THE COURTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SUITABILITY OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AS A MECHANISM FOR INTRODUCING SOCIAL AND LABOUR CRITERIA TO BE RESPECTED BY COMPANIES IN THEIR WORKS AND SERVICES CONTRACTING ACTIVITY WILL BE ANALYSED, IDENTIFYING CLAUSES AND DETERMINING THE LEGAL CONDITIONS FOR THEIR VALIDITY AND EFFECTIVENESS. WITH A CROSS-CUTTING NATURE, THE AREA OF NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY, WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE GENDER DIMENSION AND ON DISABILITY, HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS A SPECIFIC AREA TO PROCEED TO A MORE IN-DEPTH STUDY. IN A SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF PRODUCTIVE DECENTRALISATION, IN WHICH THE ADMINISTRATION IS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO ALLOW AND ENCOURAGE THE MARKET ITSELF TO BECOME A MECHANISM FOR GUARANTEEING AND PROMOTING COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS AND CERTAIN SOCIAL AND LABOUR VALUES, THUS COMPLEMENTING THE TRADITIONAL MECHANISMS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS REGULATION.