Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. The Committee notes the Government’s report and the attached “Instructions on Implementation of Government Contracts”, which were issued by the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation in 2008. It observes that, as indicated in the Government’s report, these instructions aim principally at ensuring fairness and transparency in all bidding procedures but bear little relevance to the core requirement of the Convention which is the pay and other working conditions applicable to workers engaged in the execution of public contracts. The Committee is therefore bound to conclude that no progress has been made with respect to the revision of procurement laws and regulations in order to give effect to the requirements of the Convention. The Committee recalls that the object and purpose of this Convention is not to promote fair, open and corruption-free public bidding procedures but rather to ensure that, by virtue of standard labour clauses inserted in public contracts, workers are entitled to wages, hours of work and other labour conditions at least as good as those normally observed for the kind of work in question in the area where the contract is executed, and that higher local standards, if any, apply. The Committee hopes that in the ongoing amendment process of the Labour Code, and following the recommendations of the Tripartite Consultation Committee, the Government will not fail to take the necessary steps in order to bring the national legislation at last into conformity with the Convention.