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

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Sint Maarten

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 2 of the Convention. Insertion of labour clauses in public contracts. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take all necessary action in order to give full effect to the Convention and to provide detailed information in future reports on any progress made in this regard. The Government indicates in its report that it is in the process of taking the necessary action to be in compliance with the Convention. The Committee recalls its earlier comments that the Convention is still not given effect in either law or practice despite the Government’s repeated statements over the past 20 years that draft directives concerning the insertion of labour clauses in government contracts were under preparation. The Committee therefore reiterates that prompt steps need to be taken to implement the basic requirements of the Convention by providing for: (i) the insertion in all public contracts falling within the scope of Article 1 of the Convention of labour clauses – drafted after consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations – ensuring to the workers concerned wages and other working conditions not less favourable than those established for work of the same character in the same area by collective agreement, arbitration award or national laws or regulations; (ii) the notification of the terms of the labour clauses, by advertising specifications or otherwise; (iii) the posting of notices in conspicuous places at workplaces with a view to informing workers of their conditions of work; and (iv) the effective enforcement through a system of inspection and adequate sanctions, including the withholding of contracts and the withholding of payments for failure to observe and apply the provisions of labour clauses. While acknowledging the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground because of the extensive damage caused by the recent hurricane, the Committee trusts that the Government will soon be in a position to take the necessary action to bring its law and practice into conformity with the Convention.