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Government procurement contracts and minimum labour standards enforcement: Rhetoric, duplication and distraction?

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  • Sasha Holley
  • Glenda Maconachie
  • Miles Goodwin

Abstract

Government contracts for services typically include terms requiring contractors to comply with minimum labour standards laws. Procurement contract clauses specify reporting procedures and sanctions for non-compliance, implying that government contracting agencies will monitor and enforce minimum labour standards within contract performance management. In this article, the case of school cleaners employed under New South Wales government contracts between 2010 and 2011 is the vehicle for exploring the effectiveness of these protective clauses. We find that the inclusion of these protective clauses in procurement contracts is unnecessary in the Australian context, and any expectations that government contracting agencies will monitor and enforce labour standards are misleading. At best, the clauses are rhetoric, and at worst, they are a distraction for parties with enforcement powers.

Suggested Citation

  • Sasha Holley & Glenda Maconachie & Miles Goodwin, 2015. "Government procurement contracts and minimum labour standards enforcement: Rhetoric, duplication and distraction?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(1), pages 43-59, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:26:y:2015:i:1:p:43-59
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304614546450
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christopher McCrudden, 2004. "Using public procurement to achieve social outcomes," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 28(4), pages 257-267, November.
    2. Iain Campbell & Manu Peeters, 2008. "Low Pay, Compressed Schedules and High Work Intensity: A Study of Contract Cleaners in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 11(1), pages 27-46.
    3. McCrudden, Christopher, 2007. "Buying Social Justice: Equality, Government Procurement, & Legal Change," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199232437.
    4. McCrudden, Christopher, 1999. "International Economic Law and the Pursuit of Human Rights: A Framework for Discussion of the Legality of 'Selective Purchasing' Laws under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 3-48, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Karen Jaehrling & Mathew Johnson & Trine P Larsen & Bjarke Refslund & Damian Grimshaw, 2018. "Tackling Precarious Work in Public Supply Chains: A Comparison of Local Government Procurement Policies in Denmark, Germany and the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(3), pages 546-563, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cleaners; enforcement; government procurement contracts; minimum labour standards;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J88 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Public Policy
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • L59 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Other

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