Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Belgium (Ratification: 1952)

Article 2 of the Convention. Labour clauses. The Committee notes with interest the amendments to the Law of 24 December 1993 on public procurement, which was already in conformity with Article 2 of the Convention. It notes, in particular, that a criterion based on social considerations was added to section 16 of the Law containing a non-exhaustive list of criteria to be taken into account in selecting the most favourable tender. The Committee also notes the adoption of section 18bis, which provides that, “in accordance with the principles of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the contracting authority may require conditions for the execution of the contract which would be in line with social and ethical objectives regarding the vocational training for the unemployed or young workers, or with the obligation to respect, in substance, the provisions of basic ILO Conventions, in case these Conventions would not already apply in the tenderer’s country of origin”. The Government may wish to amend this section in order to specify the ILO Conventions referred to therein.

Article 4. Obligation to keep the workers informed. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the posting of notices at the workplace with a view to informing the workers engaged in the execution of public contracts of the working conditions applicable to them.

Article 5, paragraph 1. Sanctions. The Committee notes that under section 12, paragraph 5, of the Law of 24 December 1993 on public procurement, “without prejudice to the application of sanctions provided for in other legal, or regulatory instruments or collective agreements”, the failure to fulfil the obligations arising from applicable legal or regulatory instruments or collective agreements in respect of safety and health, working conditions, taxation and social security, and the failure to ensure the observance of the same obligations by subcontractors, are considered to be violations of contractual clauses and give rise to measures and sanctions as such. The Committee requests the Government to provide explanations on all measures and sanctions applicable in case of infringement, and to indicate in particular whether the withholding of contracts and/or the withholding of payments under the contract may be imposed, as provided for under this Article of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for instance, extracts from reports of the inspection services and details on the number and nature of contraventions reported.