Declaration for Commitment to Compliance with Labour and Social Standards in Public ICT Procurement

Declaration for Commitment  to Compliance with Labour and Social Standards in Public ICT Procurement

May 2019: In a joint initiative, the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (Beschaffungsamt des Bundesministerium des Inneren) and Bitkom have updated the purchasing conditions for the socially sustainable procurement of ITC products and ITC services. In line with the requirements of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights adopted by the German Government in 2016, the obligations of public sector contractors to observe fair working conditions in the provision of ITC products and ITC services will increase even further in the future.

The updated undertaking extends the obligations of providers of ITC products and ITC services to respect fair working conditions even further than before. In production, the ILO core labor standards, such as the ban on child and slave labor, non-discrimination and the right to collective bargaining, have long been applicable. Now in addition, standards for occupational safety and use of chemicals, minimum wages, weekly working hours and social security apply. The standards to be observed are to be made known to the employees on site. Also, the verification requirements for companies have become more stringent. State purchasers in federal, state and local governments have to opportunity to check the actual compliance with the standards by requesting audit evidence or other documents from the Contractor and/or by visiting production facilities.

To support the contracting authorities and the bidders, the BeschA has prepared a handout in cooperation with Bitkom. This document contains basic information on the declaration of commitment, valuable information on embedding it in the tender and the necessary measures for bidders to participate in tenders with the declaration of commitment. In addition, important questions about the use of the declaration of commitment are answered in an FAQ.]

The declaration of commitment (in German and English), as well as further information, is available for download below.