La tutela del lavoro nei contratti pubblici attraverso le clausole sociali

Labor protection in public contracts through social clauses The legislation aimed at the protection of workers in public procurement, in particular through the so-called social clauses, is an important aspect of the issue of the fight against poor work. In fact, considering that the cost of public contracts and concessions represents over 10% of annual GDP, it is clear the impact that the competitive mechanisms envisaged for assignment can have on the cost of labor and on the conditions of workers in terms of protection and promotion. The social clauses act in this sense as a control so that competition, which can well take place on the organization of work, no undermines the conditions of fair treatment of workers, affecting the determination of the remuneration levels of the employed workforce and more generally on the application of the content of guarantee of collective agreements (so-called “first generation clause”), as well as on the re-absorption of personnel following a new assignment (so-called “social absorption clause” or “second generation”). Although the social clauses constitute conditions for the execution of public contracts, their relevance does not end only in the executive phase, in terms of guarantees on their effectiveness, but also in the formative phase in terms of control over the adequacy and value of the performance.