On Monday 16 March 2026, Luxembourg trade unions the OGBL and LCGB said they welcomed the recent judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning public procurement.
The ruling made by the CJEU on Thursday 5 March 2026 confirmed that public authorities may, when awarding public contracts, favour companies that encourage collective bargaining and promote quality employment.
In a press release, the trade unions said: “This judgment represented an important victory, particularly in light of the discussions regarding the transposition of the directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU and, in particular, the directive’s objective of achieving an 80% collective agreement coverage rate in all Member States of the Union.”
The OGBL and LCGB detailed that the ruling followed a dispute between AESTE, a group of private companies established in Spain that provide services to dependent persons (domestic assistance, care for the elderly, etc.) and the municipality of Ortuella in Spain. The municipality had launched a public tender in order to find a company to carry out home-care services within the municipality.
To be awarded the contract, interested companies were assessed on the basis of several award criteria defined in the tender specifications issued by the municipality of Ortuella. One of the criteria favoured companies that undertook to pay wages higher than those provided for in the relevant sectoral collective agreement. AESTE considered these criteria discriminatory and decided to bring the matter before the CJEU.
The CJEU has now ruled that public authorities may indeed grant preferential treatment to companies that negotiate with trade unions to secure better wages and working conditions within the framework of public procurement procedures.
The OGBL and LCGB said that, currently most contracts are awarded solely on the basis of the lowest price. This leads to downward pressure on wages and working conditions, as well as on the quality of services, particularly in sectors most affected by public procurement (construction, cleaning, security and guarding services, etc.).
The OGBL and LCGB said they welcomed this decision as “an important step forward”, promoting collective bargaining and supporting quality jobs and services. The two organisations also emphasised that linking the award of public contracts to better working conditions and fair wages will also contribute to achieving the 80% collective bargaining coverage target set out in the directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU.
