THE POTENTIAL OF ILO CORE CONVENTIONS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PRESENTATION STRUCTURE I. ILO mandate and means of action II. ILO core conventions III. Other ILO instruments with impact on Public Procurement IV. Integration of labour/social issues in Public Procurement 1 PART I: THE ILO MANDATE Established in 1919 under Art. 2 of the Treaty of Versailles to promote labour rights, human rights and social justice 2 1
PART I: THE ORGANISATION Total of 180 member states Tripartite: Governments Employers Workers All have equal decision-making power 3 PART I: ILO MEANS OF ACTION Set international labour standards Provide technical assistance 4 2
PART I: ILO STANDARDS Conventions Recommendations Declarations Codes of Practice 5 PART I: CONVENTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 188 Conventions and 199 Recommendations Based on best practice of countries Adopted by 2 / 3 of all of the tripartite constituents (both developed and developing countries) Conventions are legal obligations of states which have ratified them Conventions and Recommendations provide useful guidance to national policy makers, regardless of ratification 6 3
PART II: ILO CORE CONVENTIONS Historical process led to designation of core labour standards then fundamental rights through the Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998 7 PART II: THE PRINCIPLES AND THEIR CONVENTIONS Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining The elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour The effective abolition of child labour The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation C87 on Freedom of Association and C98 on Collective Bargaining C29 on Forced Labour and C105 on Abolition of Forced Labour C138 on Minimum Age and C182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour C100 on Equal Remuneration and C111 on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) 8 4
PART II: VIRTUALLY-UNIVERSAL RATIFICATION 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 1997 2007 40 20 0 C. 87 C. 98 C. 29 C. 105 C. 138 C. 182 C. 100 C. 111 9 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANISE (C87) Respect for the right of employers and workers to freely and voluntarily establish and join organizations of their own choice and the right of the organization to carry out its activities in full freedom and without interference No interference in an employee s decision to associate No anti-union discrimination No interference with activities of workers representatives Freely discussing issues at work in order to reach agreement 10 5
RIGHT TO ORGANISE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING (C98) Recognize representative organization Provide facilities for effective negotiations Bargain in good faith Provide information required for meaningful negotiations 11 FORCED LABOUR (C29): DEFINITION... forced or compulsory labour shall mean all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily. Except: military service normal civic obligation court conviction cases of emergency minor communal service 12 6
FORCED LABOUR (C29): OBLIGATIONS State obliged to: prohibit penalize with adequate and strictly enforced penal sanctions 13 ABOLITION OF FORCED LABOUR (C105) Abolish forced labour as a means of: political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system; mobilizing and using labour for purposes of economic development; labour discipline; punishment for having participated in strikes; racial, social, national or religious discrimination. 14 7
CHILD LABOUR: THEMES Set and respect minimum ages for work Get children in school Identify and end the worst forms of child labour 15 MINIMUM AGE CONVENTION (C 138) Fix a minimum age for admission to employment or work Pursue a national policy designed to: effectively abolish; progressively raise minimum age. 16 8
C138: LOWEST MINIMUM AGES General Minimum Age Light work Hazardous work In normal circumstances: 13 years 18 years 15 years or more (not less than compulsory school age) (16 years conditionally) Where economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed: 14 years 12 years 18 years (16 years conditionally) 17 CHILD LABOUR (C182): OBLIGATION Obliges public authorities to take: immediate and effective measures; to prohibit; and eliminate the worst forms of child labour: slavery, forced labour; prostitution and pornography; illicit activities; work likely to harm health, safety or morals. 18 9
EQUAL REMUNERATION (C100) Public authorities must correct matters under their control and promote equality: as between men and women with respect to remuneration (All Remuneration: ordinary wages plus other payments made by the Employer to the worker arising out of employment) equal remuneration for work of equal value 19 DISCRIMINATION (C111) Any distinction, exclusion or preference based on one or more grounds which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of access to job opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation like: race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national origin, social origin 20 10
EMPLOYMENT AND OCCUPATION (C111) Access to vocational training Access to employment and to particular occupations Terms and conditions of employment 21 PART III: OTHER ILO INSTRUMENTS WITH IMPACT ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) Addresses both Governments and Enterprises ILO Convention 94: Labour clauses in Public Contracts OSH Conventions 22 11
APPROACH OF MNE DECLARATION Labour-management cooperation Constructive approach with broader development impact Backward and foreword linkages in supply chains Importance of good industrial relations Dialogue with companies rather than regulation of business CSR practices 23 MNE DECLARATION: EXPECTATIONS OF ENTERPRISES AND GOVERNMENT Fundamental principles and rights at work Employment Training Wages, hours of work, OSH Industrial relations 24 12
ILO CONVENTION 94 LABOUR CLAUSES (PUBLIC CONTRACTS - RATIFIED BY 60 COUNTRIES OF WHICH 11 IN EU) Public contracts should: not have less good provisions than the generally-prevailing conditions of work ensure that the workers concerned receive wages (including allowances), hours of work and other conditions of work which are not less favourable than those established for work of the same character in the trade or industry concerned provide notice of these requirements in advertising the specifications of the tender provide for periodic inspection to verify compliance 25 PART IV: INTEGRATION OF LABOUR/SOCIAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Specifications of what is being purchased Specifications of the process by which the contract must be delivered Regulating who can tender for the contract Attempting to influence supply chain by including provisions on sub-contracts Denial of ability to tender as a sanction for breach of social law 26 13
PART IV: INTEGRATION OF LABOUR/SOCIAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (cont.) Including social and ethical issues as considerations to be taken into account at the award stage Enabling selected tenderers to match lowest offers Conditions regulating post-award delivery of the contract Persuading awarded contractors to adopt CSR 27 THE WAY FORWARD Global social and environmental norms: encourage Socially Responsible Procurement (SRP) e.g. ILO conventions, Kyoto, Beijing Declaration on Women, etc. while global economic agreements mostly constrain SRP Promote holistic approach: public procurement policy to reinforce social and environmental policies Our task here is to try to push the frontiers for increased harmonisation of economic, social and environmental policies 28 14