Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses into public contracts. The Committee notes that the Government admits that no labour clauses are inserted into public contracts, as required under this Article of the Convention, and recognizes the need to rectify this situation. In this regard, the Government indicates that the recently established Tripartite Consultation Committee has recommended the amendment of the provisions of the Labour Code relating to collective agreements. The Committee recalls that the Convention requires the insertion of labour clauses into public contracts to ensure that 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, as well as to ensure that higher local standards, if any, apply. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made by the Tripartite Consultation Committee in supporting the amendment process of the Labour Code and to transmit a copy of the revised text as soon as it is adopted.

The Committee understands that Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 87 of 14 May 2004 on public contracts regulates the bidding and award procedures of all procurement of goods, services and construction services, on the basis of transparency, predictability, fairness of treatment, anti-corruption and open competition. According to section 1 of the Order, public funds are to be committed, to the maximum extent practicable, in accordance with full, fair and open competitive public bidding procedures, including, effective tender publication, objective bid evaluation criteria, public bid opening and the use of electronic commerce methods. Under section 2(1) of the same Order, an Office of Government Public Contract Policy is established for the coordination of government public contract policy and the development and adoption of standard government public contract provisions. In addition, section 6(2) specifies that in preparing the implementing regulations, the Office of Government Public Contract Policy will be guided by recognized and accepted international standards and best practices, such as those contained in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Model Law for Procurement of Goods, Construction, and Services, Directives of the European Union, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement.

In this respect, the Committee regrets to note that both Order No. 87 of 2004 and the Coalition Provisional Authority Memorandum No. 4 of 19 August 2003 on contract grant procedures, are completely silent on social and labour matters related to the execution of public contracts. Therefore, the Committee asks the Government to re-examine its procurement practices and regulations with a view to giving full effect to the requirements of the Convention. The Committee hopes that more than 20 years after ratification, the Government will at last take appropriate action in order to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Committee further requests the Government to specify whether the administrative instructions and regulations referred to in section 14(1) of Order No. 87 of 2004 have been adopted and, if so, to provide a copy of those instructions as well as copies of any standard public contract provisions, forms or documents which may have been issued by the Office of Government Public Contract Policy.

For all useful purposes, the Committee attaches herewith a copy of a Practical Guide, prepared by the Office principally on the basis of the General Survey of 2008 on Convention No. 94, to help better understand the requirements of the Convention and ultimately improve its application in law.