Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Labour clauses. The Committee notes the adoption of Order No. 033/CAB/PM of 13 February 2007 issuing the General administrative terms and conditions applicable to public contracts (CCAG) and the Prime Minister’s Circular No. 003/CAB/PM of 18 April 2008, concerning compliance with regulations pertaining to Government procurement, enforcement and monitoring. It notes in particular the CCAG applicable to public contracts, section 14.1 of which refers to the employer’s obligations to protect the labour force and comply with the social legislation in force. The same section stipulates that the rules for application of these texts shall be established by the Special administrative terms and conditions (CCAP). In this respect, the Committee notes that the regulations established by the CCAG are drafted in very general terms and do not comply with the specific requirements of Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that Article 2 of the Convention requires the inclusion of clauses ensuring that workers in enterprises involved in public contracts enjoy the same working conditions as those established for work of the same character in the trade or industry concerned in the district where the work is carried on. The main aim of the Convention is therefore to guarantee that workers employed by an enterprise and paid indirectly from public funds enjoy – thanks to the inclusion of appropriate labour clauses in public contracts – wages and working conditions that are at least as favourable as wages and working conditions normally assured for the type of work in question, especially when the statutory minimum working conditions are exceeded by collective agreements or specific agreements. While noting that the Government states that it intends bringing its legislation in line with the Convention, the Committee asks the Government once again to take steps in the very near future to bring the legislation concerning public contracts in conformity with the provisions of the Convention, especially Articles 2 (inclusion of labour clauses), 4(a)(iii) (notices in workplaces) and 5 (withholding of contracts or of payments). It also requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments concerning the drafting of the new Public Contracts Code, and to include a copy of the text of the CCAP in its next report.