The International Experience - ILO Convention C94 - Public Contracts 1949
Description
This Convention concerns the provision of goods and services by public authorities of signatory countries. It says:
'Contracts to which this Convention applies shall include clauses ensuring to the workers concerned wages (including allowances), hours of work and other conditions of labour which are not less favourable than those established for work of the same character in the trade or industry concerned in the district where the work is carried on ...or the nearest appropriate district... or generally observed in the trade or industry...'
New Zealand has never ratified this convention but it has been ratified by countries such as Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Cuba, Brazil, France and the Netherlands.
Impact
This project has not found any reference to the effectiveness or otherwise of this early ILO convention. Even when countries ratify a convention they are not necessarily actively implemented and some may become obsolete. For example, a Finnish government website reported that while Finland had ratified 97 conventions only 81 were in force.
Possible relevance to New Zealand
The wages rates and conditions of the New Zealand occupations/industries this project is focussing on are generally poor and therefore there may be no benefit from comparing with rates in other locations - even if the convention had been ratified by this country.
If it was ratified, it could be applied in situations where a public body (such as a DHB) retained a function usually contracted out (such as cleaning services). Wages in this entity could provide a wage and conditions benchmark for the contracted out services by similar entities. The usefulness of this is predicated on the setting of fair and reasonable wage rates and employment conditions by the public body with in-house services.
