Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre las cláusulas de trabajo (contratos celebrados por las autoridades públicas), 1949 (núm. 94) - Italia (Ratificación : 1952)

Articles 2 to 5 of the Convention. Labour clauses in public contracts. The Committee notes with interest that a new Code of Public Contracts was adopted by Legislative Decree No. 36/2023 (“the 2023 Code”), effective 1 July 2023. The Committee notes in the report that Article 2 of the Convention is implemented by section 11(1) of the new Code, which reproduces the content of section 30(4) of the 2016 Code, by stating that “personnel providing labour, services, and supplies under public contracts and concessions benefit from the provisions of the national and regional collective contract for the sector and the location where the work is provided”. In addition, section 11(2) of the new Code introduces the obligation of contracting authorities to state which collective contract shall apply in advertising calls or invitations to tender. In case a collective contract stated in the offer differs from the one initially indicated by a contracting authority, but guarantees the same protections to employees, before awarding the contract, the contracting authority must obtain a declaration from the operator that the indicated collective contract will be applied or equivalent protection provided. In response to the Committee’s request concerning the implementation of section 50 of the 2016 Code, the Government indicates that this section was renewed and transposed in section 57(1) of the new Code. It indicates that while section 50, providing for the inclusion of “social clauses” in calls, notifications, and invitations to tender, was mandatory only for contracts related to “labour-intensive” works and services, section 57(1) explicitly establishes an overall obligation for contracting authorities to include, in calls, notifications, and invitations to tender, specific social clauses requesting, as an integral part of the offer, the application of national and regional collective contracts for the sector, which are “those stipulated by employers’ and workers' organizations that are comparatively the most representative at the national level” and selected from “those with scope closely linked to the main activity of the company for the contract or concession”. The Government indicates that, in this way, the new Code seeks to compel all economic operators delivering public contracts to provide wages and conditions set by the best collective contracts. It also states that the new Code clearly implements the provisions of section 36 of Law No. 300/1970, known as the Workers' Statute, under which an explicit clause, requiring the beneficiary or contractor to provide workers with conditions that are not inferior to those deriving from collective labour contracts for the category and location, must be inserted in the terms of contracts for the execution of public works. The Government further indicates that section 108 of the new Code specifies that the criteria for adjudicating the offer, in particular, environmental and social criteria related to the purpose of the contract, must be detailed in the tender documents. The Government also points out that section 108 expressly states that the operator must indicate in the offer, under penalty of exclusion, the labour and company costs of meeting occupational health and safety requirements. Lastly, regarding the Committee’s request to provide copies of tender documents, the Government provides Standard Tender No. 1 - 2023, approved by the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), concerning an open procedure for awarding public contracts for services and supplies in ordinary sectors for amounts above European thresholds. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention, including detailed information on the practical application of the new 2023 Code of Public Contracts, in particular its sections 50(1) and 108.

Article 4(a)(iii). Requirement to inform workers of their conditions of work. The Committee notes that the 2023 Code of Public Contracts did not introduce a requirement which would ensure the posting of notices at the workplace with a view to informing workers of their conditions of work. In this context, the Government refers to Legislative Decree No. 152/1997, amended in 2022, which provides for employer's obligation to inform workers of the conditions applicable to the contract or employment relationship, at the time of hiring and before the employment relationship begins, by providing either the individual employment contract in writing or a copy of the document communicating the establishment of the employment relationship. The Government also indicates that legal and national collective contract provisions relating to information that must be communicated by employers are available on the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy website, while national collective labour contracts can be consulted through the National Archive of Collective Labour Contracts. The Committee recalls, however, that in order for workers to know the content of labour clauses, Article 4(a)(iii) of the Convention requires that the laws, regulations or other instruments giving effect to the Convention must provide for the posting of notices in the workplace to inform the workers of their conditions of work in the context of a public contract. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to give full effect to Article 4(a)(iii) of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Government indicates that in 2022, the total value of contracts above €40,000 stood at approximately €289.8 billion. It indicates that this is the highest increase since 2018, and that it is mainly due to the 139.7 per cent increase in the value of contracts in the works sector. The Government also submits the statistics based on National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) annual report, submitted to Parliament in 2022. Regarding the request for the approximate number of workers employed in executing public contracts, the Government indicates that this information is not available as the National Labour Inspectorate only compiles an annual statistical information concerning irregular workers in outsourced production. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information, including statistics on the average number of public contracts concluded annually and, if possible, the approximate number of workers engaged in their execution; sample copies of the documents for calls for tenders, labour clauses and the general conditions of public contracts; extracts from the reports of the labour inspection services containing information on cases in which payments have been withheld, public contracts cancelled or bidders excluded from all subsequent calls for tender due to breaches of labour clauses; and any other information which would enable to the Committee to assess more clearly the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice.