Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s report as well as the documentation accompanying it.

The Committee takes note of the different legal texts attached to the report as well as of the arguments contained in them. However, the Committee regrets to observe that the legal texts sent with the report are, strictly speaking, irrelevant as regards the substance of the Convention.

The Committee follows the legal arguments contained in the report. However, it regrets to note that the allegation does not resolve the problem of the failure of the legislation in force to apply the Convention. The Committee agrees with the Government that "the law should be an organic or systematic whole …". The Committee therefore reiterates that Decree No. 8/990 has a limitative effect on the provisions of Decree No. 114/982, of 24 March 1982. Section 1 of this Decree establishes that "labour clauses should be included in the relevant contracts so that the contracting parties are obliged to comply with the provisions of arbitration awards and collective agreements in force for the branch of activities". In principle, the text of section 1 of this Decree implements the provisions of Article 2 of the Convention, which establishes that the public contracts referred to by the Convention "shall include clauses ensuring to the workers concerned wages (including allowances), hours of work and other conditions of labour which are not less favourable than those established for work of the same character in the trade or industry concerned in the district where the work is carried on". Section 34 of Decree No. 8/990, of 24 January 1990, limits the provisions of above Decree No. 114/982, by only requiring the compliance by the contractor with "legal and regulatory provisions in force in labour matters". It is consequently clear that this provision fails to apply Article 2 of the Convention.

In consideration of the provisions of Article 2, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the legislation is a systematic, unified organic whole, thus giving full effect to the Convention.

The Committee also wishes to reiterate that international labour Conventions are not normally automatically executory and that therefore the ratifying governments must adopt the legislative or regulatory measures necessary for their application within the country concerned, independently of their automatic inclusion in the internal legal structure on ratification, under the Constitution of the country. The Committee thus hopes that the Government will take the steps necessary to give full application to the provisions of this Convention.

The Committee is addressing a request concerning other questions related to the Convention directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2002.]