Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Singapore (Ratification: 1965)

Other comments on C094

Observation

Direct Request

2020
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2017
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2001

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Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. The Committee previously requested the Government to take all appropriate measures to ensure that all public contracts falling within the scope of the Convention are awarded only to enterprises (including any subcontractors) which guarantee to their workers’ wages, hours of work and other conditions of labour not less favourable than those set out in existing collective agreements or generally observed in the same sector or industry by employers in a similar situation. The Committee recalled that, as clarified in paragraph 112 of its 2008 General Survey on labour clauses in public contracts, in those countries where the employment conditions which are laid down in the national legislation constitute both maximum and minimum standards, which may not be exceeded by more favourable collective agreements or arbitration awards, a reference in the public contracts to the relevant provisions of the national legislation would be sufficient for the purpose of giving effect to the Convention. The Committee noted that, therefore, in situations where no arrangements exist for the effective regulation of wages and other employment conditions through collective bargaining, the Convention may not be deemed to require contractors to do more than to merely conform to the national labour legislation. The Committee also requested the Government to transmit copies of the legal text(s) regulating the accreditation and grading systems of cleaning and security services. The Government reports that, in the absence of industry-level collective agreements, contractors and vendors are required to provide their workers with adequate standards equivalent to those established by national laws. It adds that companies engaged under public contracts are required to ensure wages, hours of work, and other conditions of labour that are not less favourable than those established for work of the same character in the trade or industry. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government on additional measures taken (with effect from 31 January 2019) to safeguard the basic employment rights of outsourced workers in the cleaning, security and landscape sectors. It further notes that, as part of the applicable licensing/registration requirements, cleaning, security, and landscape companies must demonstrate that they have a progressive wage structure in place such that the employees concerned receive wages that are commensurate with the higher training, standards and productivity required of them. In addition, to meet licensing and registration requirements, companies must ensure that they have not breached employment laws or defaulted on Employment Claims Tribunal Orders for a specified period of time. The Committee welcomes the copies of the specific instruments regulating the accreditation and grading systems for cleaning and security services communicated by the Government. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the Government and requests that it continue to provide information on the general manner in which the Convention is applied, including, for instance, labour inspection reports, indicating the number of inspections of public administration contracts carried out, the number and type of violations detected and the sanctions imposed, if any. Please also provide information on any practical difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention.