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The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Public Procurement Law (Act No. 4734 of 4 January 2002) and the Public Procurement Contracts Law (Act No. 4735 of 5 January 2002). It notes that the Public Procurement Law, which applies to procurement contracts for goods, services and construction work, defines and describes the entire public procurement procedure, except for the execution of public contracts while the Public Procurement Contracts Law defines the types and forms of public contracts and contains provisions concerning contract implementation and management, performance security and termination of contracts. The Committee also notes that under the Public Procurement Law, an agency known as the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and comprising a ten-member Public Procurement Board, was established to elaborate guidelines for implementation of the public procurement legislation, issue secondary legislation, circulars and interpretative decisions, and also to rule on complaints filed by dissatisfied tenderers.

Article 2(1) and (2) of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. The Committee notes that section 38 of the General Specification for Services, which is annexed to the Regulation on Implementation of Services Procurements, and section 35 of the General Specification for Works, which is annexed to the Regulation on Implementation of Works Procurements, are fully consonant with the basic requirement of the Convention, providing for wages and other working conditions at least as favourable as those established by collective agreement or legislation for work of the same character in the trade or industry concerned. The Committee further notes that under section 23 of the Standard Contract for Procurement of Services and section 29 of the Standard Contract for Works, the labour clause contained in the General Specifications is binding on the contractor and may therefore be deemed to form an integral part of the standard contract.

The Committee notes, however, that no similar provisions are to be found in the legislative or regulatory texts concerning procurement of goods. Recalling that the question of the insertion of labour clauses to contracts for the manufacture and assembly of materials or equipment has been raised on numerous occasions in connection with the application of Decree No. 88/13168 of July 1988, the Committee would appreciate receiving additional clarifications on this point.

Article 2(4). Information for tenderers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the labour clauses provided for in the standard forms of contract and the General Specifications are included in the Announcement for Procurement referred to in Annex 1 of the Regulation on Implementation of Services Procurement and the Regulation on Implementation of Works Procurement.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the number of enterprises inspected in the period 2001–06 and the number of infringements observed and fines imposed. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would continue to provide all available information on the practical application of the Convention, including inspection results, copies of official documents or studies on matters dealt with in the Convention, such as annual reports of the PPA or the Public Procurement Board, etc.

For all useful purposes, the Committee attaches herewith a copy of a Practical Guide, prepared by the Office principally on the basis of the General Survey of 2008 on Convention No. 94, to help better understand the requirements of the Convention and ultimately improve its application in law.