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

Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention, 1949 (No. 94) - Sierra Leone (Ratification: 1961)

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:

Noting that the Government has not supplied for a number of years any substantive information on the national laws and regulations giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would communicate in its next report up to date information on the implementing legislation and specify in particular the legal instrument which provides for the insertion of labour clauses to public contracts as required under Article 2 of the Convention. In this connection, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the Administrative Regulation – Secretariat Circular No. 23 of 1946, which met the requirements of the Convention at the time of its ratification, is still in force.

Moreover, the Committee understands that the Government with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank has undertaken public procurement reforms including the restructuring of the Central Tender Board, which sets policies and supervises procurement, the setting up of decentralized procurement offices in key ministries, and the drafting of new rules and regulations with a view to improving financial performance, good governance and transparency.

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps to ensure that the new legislation on public procurement is fully consistent with the requirements of the Convention and asks the Government to keep it informed of any further developments in this regard.

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.