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

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 2004/275 of 24 September 2004 relating to the regulation of public contracts which repeals Decree No. 95/101 of 9 June 1995.

Article 4(a)(iii) of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that only internal regulations referring to the technical organization of work, disciplinary standards and safety and hygiene, at the exclusion of remuneration details, must be posted at the workplace. It wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that this Article of the Convention lays down an unqualified obligation for contractors to post notices in conspicuous places at the workplaces concerned informing the workers of their conditions of work, notably their wage conditions. The Committee requests therefore the Government to take prompt action to ensure that full effect is given to this provision of the Convention.

Article 5. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to sections 166 et seq. of the Labour Code concerning sanctions for infringements of the general labour legislation. The Committee recalls in this respect that one of the reasons for using labour clauses in public contracts is that the provision of penalties, such as the withholding of payments to the contractor, makes it possible to impose more directly effective sanctions in case of infringements. In fact, the withholding of payments constitutes an additional safeguard for the workers concerned even when normal judicial proceedings are available for recovering wages due to them. The Committee asks therefore the Government to specify whether the new public procurement legislation makes provision for sanctions, such as the withholding of contracts or the withholding of payments, for failure to observe the provisions of labour clauses.

Article 6 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that the Government intends to communicate copies of public contracts in due course. Recalling that no information has been received in recent years concerning the practical application of the Convention, the Committee trusts that the Government will make an effort to collect and forward all relevant information, including for instance copies of public contracts containing labour clauses, available statistics on the average number of contracts awarded per year and the approximate number of workers covered by the Convention, labour inspection reports, copies of official documents or studies addressing labour matters in public procurement, etc.