Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2008, publiée 98ème session CIT (2009)

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses into public contracts. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not reply to the points raised in previous comments. The Committee has been trying to establish whether the General Conditions of Contract, which applied to Antigua before its independence, and paragraph 16 of which gave effect to most of the provisions of the Convention, are still applicable in a legally binding form. The Government has never made clear whether these General Conditions of Contract are still in force, but simply referred to the Labour Code (No. 14 of 1975) as being applicable to workers employed under public contracts. Based on the information available, the Committee considers, as it has also pointed out in paragraph 169 of the General Survey of 2008 on labour clauses in public contracts, that Antigua and Barbuda is among these countries which are bound by the Convention, but have not as yet taken measures to give concrete effect to the main requirement of the Convention, i.e. the insertion of labour clauses in public contracts, considering that the mere fact that the general labour legislation applies without distinction to all workers suffices to absolve them from their obligation of incorporating appropriate labour clauses into public contracts as defined in the Convention. The Committee has consistently taken the view that the mere fact of the national legislation being applicable to all workers does not release the States which have ratified the Convention from the obligation to take the necessary steps to ensure that public contracts contain the labour clauses specified in Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take all necessary action without further delay to fully apply the Convention both in law and practice, and recalls that it may draw upon the technical assistance of the Office for this purpose.

Part V of the report form. As the Government has practically never provided information on the practical application of the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to supply in its next report up to date and documented information, including, for example, the number of public contracts awarded each year, sample copies of public contracts, reports of the labour inspection services showing contraventions related to conditions of employment in the execution of public contracts and sanctions imposed, any official documents concerning labour and social matters in relation to public procurement, etc.  

Finally, with a view to assisting the Government in its efforts to give effect to the Convention, the Committee attaches herewith a Practical Guide prepared by the Office and based principally on the findings of the abovementioned General Survey. It hopes that the Government will make good use of this Guide and will take the necessary action in the very near future.