Further supplementary memorandum submitted
by Elliot Morley MP, Minister of State for Climate Change and
Environment, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
At the EAC Inquiry on 30 November 2005, at which
I gave oral evidence on Sustainable Procurement Policy, the Committee
requested a note on the legal position of labour clauses in public
sector contracts (Q57 from David Howarth, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson
for Office of the Deputy Prime Minister refers).
Labour clauses in public contracts are not straightforward
because whilst it is legitimate to take into account the conditions
applicable to labour involved directly in delivering the contractual
requirements, public procurement policy as it exists currently
does not permit consideration of secondary criteria pertaining
to labour eg we need to establish whether insistence on the supply
chain labour force (loggers, manufacturing process employees etc)
is permissible and appropriate in timber procurement.
The UK played a major role in negotiating the
ILO 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
which provides a framework of international rights for workers,
as set out in the ILO's core labour standards. These standards
cover freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining;
elimination of forced and child labour; and ending of discrimination
in employment.
The Declaration commits member states to respect
and promote the ILO core labour standards whether or not they
have ratified the relevant ILO Conventions. The UK has ratified
all of the ILO core Conventions. The Government will continue
to promote the ILO Declaration; and in doing so will encourage
all member states to ratify and implement the ILO core Conventions.
As the department understands it, the OGC have
stated that under EC procurement regulations we cannot explicitly
require adherence to the ILO core labour standards as part of
the contract. We can however encourage voluntary adherence and
we are currently awaiting a Note on Social Issues in Public Procurement
from the OGC which we anticipate will provide guidance on how
voluntary adherence can be applied in practice. We expect the
note to be published early in the New Year and will ensure that
a copy is provided to the Committee.
13 December 2005
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