Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Repetition

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that administrative instruction No. 57/1946 of 1970 ceased to exist since the entry into force of the 1999 Constitution. It adds that the relevant laws and regulations that give effect to the Convention are the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2007, the Nigerian Content Development Act, 2010, (NCDA) and Executive Order No. 05 of 2017. The Committee recalls that, since 2013, it has repeatedly noted that the PPA 2007 does not provide for the labour clauses of the type contemplated in the Convention. The Government reports that the PPA 2007 has not been amended, but that, on 16 June 2016, the Nigerian Senate passed the PPA 2007 (amendment) Bill 2016 into law. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the 2016 amendment does not accommodate specific provisions dealing with labour clauses in the nature and manner specified in the Convention. The Government indicates, however, that it is considering tabling a proposal before the social partners to enable it to propose to the National Assembly a further amendment of the PPA 2007 in order to provide for the insertion of appropriate labour clauses in the Act. Noting that the legislation referenced in the Government’s report does not give effect to the Convention, the Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to its 2008 General Survey, Labour clauses in public contracts, paragraph 40, which emphasizes that the purpose of the Convention is to ensure that workers employed for the execution of public contracts enjoy wages and other working conditions at least as favourable as those prevailing in the locality as those normally established for the type of work concerned, whether they are established by collective agreement or otherwise, where the work is done. The Convention requires that this be done through the insertion of appropriate labour clauses in public contracts. This has the effect of setting as minimum conditions for the contract the best standards that are already established within the locality. The further aim is that local standards higher than those of general application (this in practice means the most advantageous labour conditions) should be applied, where they exist. Recalling once again that the inclusion of appropriate labour clauses in all public contracts covered by the Convention does not necessarily require the enactment of new legislation, but can be also realized by administrative instructions or circulars, the Committee trusts that the Government will take all necessary measures without further delay to bring its national legislation into full conformity with the core requirements of the Convention. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments and recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO in this regard.