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

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Iraq (Ratification: 1986)

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. Further to its previous observation, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that public contracts which are carried out by private contractors are obliged to comply with the Labour Code, which, as provided for in section 8, applies to all workers employed in the private, mixed and cooperative sectors. However, as the Committee has already observed in earlier comments, the Convention goes beyond the mere applicability of the general labour legislation to work done in the execution of public contracts and seeks to ensure that public contracts are executed under conditions of labour which are not less favourable than those established by collective agreement, arbitral award or national laws or regulations for work of the same character in the trade or industry concerned in the district where the work is carried out. It is only when the conditions which are laid down in the national legislation constitute both maximum and minimum standards which may not be exceeded by more favourable collective agreements or arbitration awards that a reference in the public contracts to the relevant provisions of the national legislation would be sufficient for the purpose of giving effect to the Convention. The Committee once again recalls that the essential element required for the application of the Convention is that a labour clause, along the terms set out in Article 2 of the Convention, be incorporated into every public contract whether for works, supply of goods or performance of services. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government's attention to paragraphs 98–121 of the 2008 General Survey on labour clauses in public contracts, which contain detailed explanations on the exact nature and content of this principal obligation.

In addition, the Committee recalls the Government’s earlier indication that a tripartite consultative committee had been established and recommended the amendment of the Labour Code in order to bring the national legislation in line with the provisions of the Convention. Noting that, in its last report, the Government no longer refers to the work of this consultative committee, the Committee asks the Government to specify whether the tripartite consultative committee is still in operation, and if so, to provide information on any progress made in adopting legislative or administrative measures to give effect to this Article of the Convention. The Committee hopes that the Government will take without delay the necessary measures in order to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention.