Direct Procurement and Threshold Value

The plan makes explicit demands for collective agreements in public procurement and wants all employees to be protected by strong collective agreements. The counter-proposal by contrast wants to make it possible for more to participate in procurement without collective agreements and raise the ceiling for direct procurement, which also reduces the transparency the plan wants to increase to counter fraud. That the plan wants good conditions for sound small businesses does not outweigh that.

• collective agreements in procurementdecisive»Vänsterpartiet ställer krav på kollektivavtal vid offentliga upphandlingar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party demands collective agreements in public procurement.”
• collective agreements for all»Alla anställda i Sverige ska skyddas av starka kollektivavtal.« (party programme ↗)“All employees in Sweden shall be protected by strong collective agreements.”
• increased transparency against fraud»Vi vill gå mot en större samhällelig insyn i företag där det behövs för att stävja fusk med till exempel skatter och anställningar.« (party programme ↗)“We want to move towards greater public transparency in companies where needed to counter fraud with for example taxes and employment.”
• conditions for sound companies»Vi vill se goda villkor för sunda företag« (party programme ↗)“We want to see good conditions for sound companies”

The plan's decisive commitment is that public procurers shall be examples of fair competition and that it shall never pay to compete through worse conditions for employees, with the collective agreement as a necessary prerequisite in working life. The counter-proposal wants instead to open procurements to more suppliers even without collective agreements and raise the threshold for direct procurement. That the plan wants to stimulate small enterprise weighs partly the other way.

• requirements in public procurementdecisive»Arbetslivs kriminalitet ska inte finnas på svensk arbetsmarknad och offentliga arbetsgivare och upphandlare ska vara föredömen i att verka för en sund konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Workplace crime shall not exist in the Swedish labour market and public employers and procurers shall be examples in working for fair competition.”
• collective agreements as requirement»Kollektivavtal är en nödvändig« (party programme ↗)“Collective agreements are a necessary”
• good working conditions for all»goda arbetsvillkor, trygg försörjning och inflytande över det egna arbetet.« (party programme ↗)“good working conditions, secure income and influence over one's own work.”
• stimulate small enterprise»entreprenörskap och kooperativ och social företagsamhet ska stimuleras.« (party programme ↗)“entrepreneurship and cooperatives and social enterprise shall be stimulated.”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan cherishes the Swedish model with collective agreements and requires that procurement sets requirements for environment, social conditions and working environment and that environmental and quality aspects are weighted more heavily. Opening participation without collective agreements and raising the threshold for direct procurement goes in the opposite direction, even though the plan shares the ambition that small businesses should be able to participate. Therefore the requirement is rejected, but with low certainty.

• cherish the collective agreement modeldecisive»Vi värnar den svenska modellen där arbetsmarknadens parter gemensamt förhandlar fram vad som« (party programme ↗)“We cherish the Swedish model where labour market parties jointly negotiate what is”
• heavier requirements in procurement»miljö- och kvalitetsaspekterna viktas betydligt« (party programme ↗)“environmental and quality aspects are weighted significantly”
• social conditions in procurement»krav ställas vad gäller miljö, sociala villkor samt« (party programme ↗)“requirements are set regarding environment, social conditions and”
• small business participation»byggsektorn genom att ge små och medelstora« (party programme ↗)“the construction sector by giving small and medium-sized”

The plan makes the party to small companies' foremost representative and wants to clear out the rule tangle for entrepreneurs, large as small. The counter-proposal wants to lower the thresholds so that small companies can participate in procurements, divide up large procurements and raise the direct procurement threshold, at the same time as transparency increases. The plan sees that small companies have harder to assert themselves in public decision processes, and wants at the same time sharpen rules against corruption. The plan therefore supports the requirement.

• small companies' best frienddecisive»Därför kommer Centerpartiet alltid att vara småföretagens bästa vän i svensk politik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore the Center Party will always be small companies' best friend in Swedish politics.”
• less rule complications»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clear out the rule tangle for entrepreneurs, large as small.”
• small companies in public processes»har svårare att hävda sig i de offentliga beslutsprocesserna« (party programme ↗)“have harder to assert themselves in the public decision processes”
• transparency against corruption»Sverige ska bli ännu mer transparent. Vi vill inrätta en antikorruptionsmyndighet, skärpa regler mot korruption och införa ett lobbyregister.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall become even more transparent. We want to establish an anti-corruption authority, sharpen rules against corruption and introduce a lobby register.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan commits to reducing regulatory burden for small businesses and to analysing public decisions from a small business perspective. That lowering thresholds in procurement, dividing large contracts and raising the direct procurement limit follows directly from that commitment. The requirement for increased transparency lies in line with the plan's view of publicity and oversight of publicly financed activities.

• reduced regulatory burden for small businessesdecisive»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska« (party programme ↗)“Regulatory burden for small businesses shall decrease”
• small business perspective in decisions»offentliga beslut analyseras ur småföretagarperspektiv« (party programme ↗)“public decisions are analysed from a small business perspective”
• more business owners create jobs»Fler företagare och entreprenörer skapar fler jobb och mer välstånd.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More business owners and entrepreneurs create more jobs and more well-being.”
• publicity and oversight»Offentlighetsprincipen har en grundläggande betydelse för att förankra och fördjupa folkstyret,« (party programme ↗)“The principle of publicity has fundamental significance for anchoring and deepening popular rule,”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan places small and medium-sized enterprises at the center of business policy and requires that bureaucracy is countered and that forthcoming rules are tested from a small business perspective. Higher direct procurement threshold and divided procurements lower precisely the thresholds that shut out small businesses. The requirement for increased transparency is covered by the plan's emphasis on honesty as the foundation for the market.

• small business perspective in regulationdecisive»regler ska motverkas. Direkta företagssubventioner avvisas. Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“rules shall be countered. Direct company subsidies are rejected. Forthcoming laws should be tested from a small business perspective.”
• reduced bureaucracy»företagande över hela landet. Byråkrati och krångliga« (party programme ↗)“enterprise throughout the country. Bureaucracy and complicated”
• honesty in business»Hederlighet och personligt ansvarstagande är« (party programme ↗)“Honesty and personal responsibility are”
• more companies»FLER FöRETAG« (2022 manifesto ↗)“MORE COMPANIES”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The counter-proposal demands lower thresholds for small businesses in procurement, participation even without collective agreements and a raised direct procurement threshold with increased transparency. The plan establishes that bureaucracy and complicated processes put obstacles in the way of enterprise and that one-third of regulatory red tape shall be removed, while public waste in all forms shall be combated. The demand aligns with this, so the plan supports it.

• bureaucracy hinders businessdecisive»höga skatter, krångliga tillståndsprocesser och byråkrati sätter käppar i hjulet för innovation och tillväxt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“high taxes, complicated permit processes and bureaucracy put obstacles in the way of innovation and growth”
• reduced regulatory red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one-third of companies' administrative costs and one-third of regulatory red tape”
• good conditions for small business»Villkoren för att starta, växa och expandera behöver vara goda för att fler ska våga lämna trygga och välbetalda jobb för att starta företag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Conditions for starting, growing and expanding need to be good so more dare to leave secure and well-paid jobs to start a business.”
• respect for tax money»Offentligt slöseri i alla former ska bekämpas.« (party programme ↗)“Public waste in all forms shall be combated.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly states that unnecessarily strict conditions in public procurement make it difficult for smaller actors to enter the market, and wants to work for regulatory simplification and relieve small businesses' administrative burden. Lowering thresholds, dividing up large procurements and raising the direct procurement threshold respond directly to that. The plan simultaneously requires that fraud and systems that invite corruption be counteracted, which the counter-proposal's transparency requirement meets.

• lower thresholds in procurementdecisive»Onödigt stränga villkor i branschstandarder och i upphandlingar gör det ofta svårt för mindre aktörer att slå sig in på marknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Unnecessarily strict conditions in industry standards and in public procurement often make it difficult for smaller actors to enter the market.”
• regulatory simplification for small businesses»Verka för regelförenkling och avlasta småföretagens administrativa börda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for regulatory simplification and relieve small businesses' administrative burden”
• counteract corruption»Både fusk och sådana system som tenderar att locka till fusk och korruption ska motverkas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Both fraud and such systems that tend to invite fraud and corruption shall be counteracted.”
• support small business»Skapa förutsättningar för nyföretagande och entreprenörskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create conditions for new business formation and entrepreneurship”