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

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee understands that a draft Labour Code is under consideration, section 173 of which would appear to follow closely the existing provisions of the Fair Labour Standards Ordinance 1988 in respect of labour clauses in public contracts. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments in this respect and to supply a copy of the new legislation, including the Schedule, as soon as it is adopted.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that for many years the Government has been indicating that there are no legislative changes or other major developments to be reported and consequently no information has been provided on the practical application of the Convention. In this connection, the Committee recalls that under Article 6 of the Convention and Part V of the report form governments are required to give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied, including, for instance, extracts from official reports, information concerning the approximate number of workers covered by relevant legislation, etc. The report form, which was adopted by the Governing Body of the ILO, is the main channel through which the Committee may obtain all the necessary information in order to follow the evolution of the national law and practice in matters covered by the Convention. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would supply in its next report detailed information on the practical application of the Convention, including samples of public contracts, information from inspection services on the supervision and enforcement of national legislation, and any other particulars bearing on the measures designed to implement the Convention.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to refer to its 2008 General Survey on labour clauses in public contracts which contains an overview of public procurement practices and procedures in so far as labour conditions are concerned and makes a global assessment of the impact and present-day relevance of Convention No. 94.

For all useful purposes, the Committee attaches herewith a copy of a Practical Guide, prepared by the Office principally on the basis of the abovementioned General Survey, to help better understand the requirements of the Convention and ultimately improve its application in law.