Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

1. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government's statement in its report that the contracts to which this Convention applies contain clauses ensuring to the workers concerned remuneration and conditions of work identical to that of other workers employed to work of the same character. The Government also indicates in its report that the majority of contracts to which the Convention applies are issued by the State and that the provisions of the legislation and national regulations that are in force are applied to all workers.

2. The Committee recalls that Article 2 of the Convention ensures for workers engaged under public contracts, conditions of labour (including wages) which are not less favourable than those established for other workers performing the same work in the trade or industry concerned in the same district. The fact of guaranteeing to workers engaged under these contracts the application of the relevant provisions of the labour legislation does not necessarily ensure the application of this Article of the Convention. The Committee recalls that the Decree of 10 April 1937, amending the Decree of 10 August 1899 respecting conditions of work in public contracts concluded by the Departments, which was repealed by Ordinance No. 73 of 29 July 1973, contained provisions that fulfilled the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention, namely making compulsory the wages and conditions of work in force in the locality or district where the work is carried on and requiring that these conditions of work are not less favourable than the general level observed for employers belonging to the same trade or industry. Furthermore, the Government indicates in its report that examples of public contracts in use in Algeria were not available when the report was written. Consequently, the Committee is not able to determine whether such contracts contain clauses which would give effect to the provisions of Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate measures in the form of legislation that have been taken or are envisaged to give effect to this provision of the Convention.

3. The Committee recalls that the Government indicated in its previous reports that new provisions had been adopted concerning the Public Contracting Code. The Committee once again hopes that the Government will supply the text of any new measure that is in force to ensure the application of the Convention.

4. The Committee notes, from the Government's report, that examples of contracts in use in Algeria and data on the number of workers covered by them and the number of contracts concluded were not available when the report was written and that this information will be supplied once it is transmitted by the departments concerned. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to transmit this information with its next report.