Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that following the recommendation of the law commission that assessed the new public procurement regulations (NOU 1997:21) to the effect that the Convention should be implemented in the form of a circular to central authorities, the Government has resolved that the Ministry of Trade and Industry should draw up a circular requiring government agencies to comply with the provisions of the Convention and that the circular should contain labour clauses that each government agency would be required to include in contracts with suppliers and contractors. While taking due note of the above information, the Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the circular as soon as it is issued and to continue to provide all available information on the practical application of the Convention, including samples of public contracts, statistics on public procurement and the number of workers concerned, copies of recent studies or official publications dealing with labour matters in public procurement, and any other particulars which would enable the Committee to evaluate the conformity of national law and practice with the requirements of the Convention.

Further, the Committee understands that there have been other legislative developments, such as the adoption of the Public Procurement Act 1999 and of the Working Environment Act 2005, which may have an impact on the application of the Convention. It would therefore appreciate receiving additional explanations in this regard.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to refer to its 2008 General Survey on labour clauses in public contracts which contains an overview of public procurement practices and procedures in so far as labour conditions are concerned and makes a global assessment of the impact and present-day relevance of Convention No. 94.

For all useful purposes, the Committee attaches herewith a copy of a Practical Guide, prepared by the Office principally on the basis of the abovementioned General Survey, to help better understand the requirements of the Convention and ultimately improve its application in law.