TUAC - TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD

05/09/2008

On 30 July 2008, the OECD released two new guidance documents on public governance, transparency and accountability:

• a “Check List on Integrity in Public Procurement”, and
• a guidance report “Lobbyists, Governments and Public Trusts: Building a Legislative Framework for Enhancing Transparency and Accountability in Lobbying”.

The documents were approved by the OECD Public Governance Committee and the drafting was subject to a consultation process with stakeholders, including with the TUAC and with the Public Services International (PSI). The documents are attached to this page and can also be found on the homepage of the OECD programme on ethics and corruption in the public sector: www.oecd.org/gov/ethics .

The Check List on Integrity in Public Procurement is structured in four chapters touching upon: (i) Transparency, (ii) Good management, (iii) Prevention of misconduct, compliance and monitoring and (iv) Accountability and control. From a trade union perspective, the text includes several recommendations that are to be welcome, including:

• Recommendation n°6 which calls for requirements to be placed “on potential suppliers and contractors to show evidence of anti-corruption policies and procedures and to contractually commit them to comply with anti-corruption standards”. Importantly, the text suggests accompanying such requirement “by a contractual right to terminate the contract in the event of non-compliance.” The recommendation further emphasises that “information provided by potential suppliers needs to be verified and compared with other internal and external sources of information, such as government databases”.
• Recommendation n°10 calls to “Empower civil society organisations, media and the wider public to scrutinise public procurement”. Among others, the OECD text states that “The effective implementation of freedom of association laws and the existence of strong civil society organisations, including trade unions in the public and private sectors, contribute to a broader institutional environment that is conducive to enhanced transparency and accountability in public procurement”.
• Along side key OECD guidance documents that relate to public and private integrity – including the Anti-bribery Convention and the OECD Guidelines for MNEs – the introductory section refers to other international agreements, including the ILO Convention n°94 on Labour Clauses in Public Contracts.

With regard to the OECD report “Lobbyists, Governments and Public Trusts”, the document contains a list of recommendations on how governments and public administrations should handle lobbying activities. These are grouped under five headings:

• Developing an appropriate framework; 
• Clearly define the scope of policy or regulation on lobbying; 
• Establish clear standards and procedures for collecting and disclosing information on lobbying; 
• Set standards of conduct to foster a culture of integrity in lobbying; 
• Put in place mechanisms for effective implementation to secure compliance.

In the drafting and consultation process, a key concern for the TUAC and the PSI was to ensure that legislated representation of workers and employers with government and parliamentary bodies – as they exist across the OECD under the term “social partnership” – be clearly distinguished from private sector and corporate lobbying activities. That concern seems to be addressed in the OECD text which states that the design of a framework for lobbying activities “must take into account what already exists or may be lacking in other policies and regulatory areas, in particular […] processes for regularly consulting representatives of employers and employees, for example in the framework of social partnerships”.

On the other hand the text remains silent on the specific responsibilities of the private sector, although the introduction acknowledges that “emerging good practices in corporate governance also encourage voluntary disclosure of participation in public policy development and lobbying of corporations”. It is hoped that more work will be conducted by the OECD on this topic in the future.

OECD work on public governance is monitored by the TUAC in partnership with the Public Services International (PSI). For more information please contact Pierre Habbard at Habbard@tuac.org and Svend Robinson svend.robinson@world-psi.org