Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. Further to its previous observations drawing attention to the absence of implementing legislation, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to the standards for the procurement of works (AWS 1996), the standards for the administrative execution of works (UWS 1996), and the standards for the procurement of services (ADS 1996). These rules address in part the working conditions applicable to workers engaged in the execution of public contracts, but, as the Government’s report indicates, they do not expressly provide for the inclusion of labour clauses such as those prescribed by the Convention. The rules merely confirm the applicability of the general labour legislation to public procurement operations, which in itself is not sufficient to meet the requirements of this Article of the Convention, as the Committee has been pointing out for a number of years.

In this connection, the Committee notes the loan contract concluded in 2011 with the Inter-American Development Bank to assist the reform effort in the area of, among others, public procurement. The Committee also notes that the programme is planned to address identified weaknesses of the public procurement system, such as an outdated, disperse and incomplete legal framework characterized by a multiplicity of legal instruments and lack of clarity. The programme aims at the adoption of a new institutional framework in accordance with best international practices, the development of standardized procurement processes and procedures, including regulations, guidelines and handbooks, and the preparation of a legislative proposal to be submitted to the National Assembly to unify and consolidate in law the principles and key regulations developed during the programme. Considering that this reform process offers a clear opportunity to adopt laws and regulations giving full effect to the provisions of the Convention, the Committee hopes that the Government will take all the necessary measures in a timely manner to ensure that the legislative text to be developed through the Public Capital Expenditure Management Programme financed by the Inter-American Development Bank complies with the standards set out in the Convention.