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

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Bahamas (Ratification: 1976)

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. For a number of years, the Committee has been asking the Government to clarify the state of national law and practice concerning the use of standard labour clauses in contracts awarded by public authorities. In its last report, the Government reiterates that the execution of all public contracts is subject to the provisions of labour laws, such as the Employment Act, the Minimum Wages Act, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the Industrial Relations Act, and therefore all workers concerned are sufficiently protected. The Committee recalls, however, that the mere fact that general labour legislation applies to workers responsible for the execution of public contracts, is not sufficient to meet the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee refers, in this respect, to paragraph 41 of the 2008 General Survey on labour clauses in public contracts in which it emphasized that the general applicability of national labour law to work done in the execution of public contracts is not the focus of the Convention since there would be very little meaning in adopting a Convention that would simply affirm that work for public contracts must comply with relevant labour legislation. The Committee wishes to emphasize once more that the insertion of labour clauses covering all the employment conditions of persons engaged in the execution of public contracts constitutes the basic requirement of the Convention and the best guarantee that such workers enjoy conditions as favourable as those which may have been collectively negotiated and obtained by workers employed in similar work in the same district. It should therefore be clear that where collective agreements grant additional benefits or provide for higher standards than those established under labour laws in general, or where collective agreements are not generally binding, a mere reference to the relevant provisions of the national legislation would be insufficient for the purpose of giving effect to the Convention. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to re-examine its laws and regulations governing public procurement to ensure that they provide for the insertion of labour clauses, as required by Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would clarify whether the following texts, to which reference has been made in previous reports, remain in force: Fair Labour Standards Act of 1970, Circular No. 1/1966 of 19 January 1966, Circular No. 1/1967 of 30 November 1967, and Circular No. 2 of 26 October 1965.