2015 CPSU/CSA POLICY CONFERENCE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

Transcription

1 2015 CPSU/CSA POLICY CONFERENCE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

2 Government Procurement Policy 1. Introduction 1.1 The Western Australian Government spends billions of dollars every year on the acquisition of goods and services. In 2011/12, The Western Australian Government purchased goods and services to the value of $19.7 billion, through procurement 1. At a time of increasing job insecurity and rising unemployment, the government need to be especially mindful of, and committed to, the need to ensure that the expenditure of taxpayer s money encourages the creation and retention of jobs within Western Australia. 1.2 The creating and retention of jobs should always occur within the terms that workers are paid fairly and employed under decent terms and conditions. 2. Values and Principles 2.1. We believe that Western Australians government procurement policy should promote the retention and creation of jobs, with the development and support of the local Western Australia industry. The policy should necessitate that contractors supplying goods and services to state government adhere to fair employment practices. 3. Application of West Australian Government Procurement Policy 3.1. We recognise that a West Australian Government Procurement Policy should apply to: The purchase of goods and services by the West Australian Government including all budget agencies, statutory authorities and government owned corporations;; 1 Byrne, A., 2013, Government Procurement in Western Australia Beyond Compliance, Keeping Good Companies, Vol. 65, N. 7, pp

3 3.1.2 Organisations contracted to the West Australian government to provide goods and/or services;; Funding agreements between the Commonwealth and State or Local Governments, Community organisations and NGO s and any other organisation in receipt of state monies. 4. Industrial Relations 4.1. We want all state government contractors (including sub-contractors in the supply chain) to adhere to all industrial relations and employment related laws including, but not limited to: Compliance with awards and industrial agreements;; Primacy of collective bargaining;; Annual leave;; Long service leave entitlements;; Best practice occupational health and safety and workers compensation;; Superannuation;; Legal age of employment;; Discrimination, and Taxation laws We want all government contractors to be contractually responsible for their subcontractors in adherence to this policy. Should a subcontractors breach this policy, the contractor will be liable for the remedies below 4.10 and We are committed to the compliance of legislative provisions relating to Freedom of Association, all successful tenderers must comply with the Freedom of Association principles. This means they shall not prevent employees joining and being active members of a union. This should include: 2

4 4.3.1 Allowing employees to participate in negotiations with employers and representative bodies of employees to develop appropriate enterprise agreements;; Employees who are members of the union are not to be victimised for membership;; Codification and effective implementation of the rights of union representatives where the employees concerned choose to have such representatives;; Recognise the role of union delegates and unions generally in representing workers;; Observance of the relevant right of entry provisions by authorised union, and health and safety representatives for legitimate purposes including for the recruitment of members, dealing with members grievances and investigation into any suspected breach of industrial awards, agreements or legislation;; and access to an inspection of the relevant employer records by a union;; The rights of elected union workplace representatives to represent members. 4.4 We call on the WA government to have a transparent tendering process. Prior to a decision on a successful tenderer, the government should make available to unions and employer organisations a full list of tenderers. Unions and employer organisations reserve the right to supply this information to the government agency about any potential contractor (including potential sub-contractors) that have a history of acting contrary to the law or behaving in a manner which does not comply with the Freedom of Association principles. 4.5 We will pursue the strict limitation on the use of commercial-in-confidence exclusions of all hiring on government contracts and that these contracts are transparent. All government agencies will maintain a register of commercial-in-confidence exclusions, to be periodically tabled in parliament and subject to scrutiny. 4.6 We want the government to require agencies to disclose details of any subcontract arrangements including the identity and location of all subcontractors. 4.7 It should be clear to any potential tenders that contracts will not be awarded on the basis that a competitive price is through the undercutting of wages, conditions and/or 3

5 rights of employers. At all times, the tenderer should be aware of any and all prevailing terms and conditions applicable to employees on collective agreements within that given industry. 4.8 Employers who are party to a collective workplace agreement with a registered trade union shall automatically be deemed to comply with clauses 1 and 2 above. 4.9 Where it alleged that a contractor has breached any of its industrial relations obligations including issues of Freedom of Association, as an initial step the government will consult with stakeholders (including the relevant union) about the best means to ensure compliance Regardless of the above, a breach of contract would require that the Government Agency be able to apply the following remedies within a specified time period Ordering rectification of the breach;; Formal warnings;; Partial exclusion from tendering, i.e. a reduction in the number of tendering opportunities, Preclusion from applying for additional tenders for a specific period;; Cancellation of contract;; Financial penalties;; Reporting of the breach to relevant regulatory and enforcement authorities;; A combination of any or all of the above Failure to comply with one or all of the above remedies as directed by the Government Agency, should result is an automatic cancellation of contract with preclusions from applying for additional tenders for a 2 year period The state government will publish a full list of successful tenderers, including;; 4

6 The name of the company or individual who holds the contract and all subcontractors that they will use in the supply chain along with their business addresses;; The location and duration of the contract;; Whether outworkers could be used to produce the goods under the contract and if so whom and at what location;; and Tenderers answers to industrial relations and OHS questions referred to in 4.1 and 4.2 above. 5. Western Australian Industry Participation 5.1 We call on a future WA government to be committed to maximising retention and creation of jobs in Western Australia and should seek to utilise its procurement practices to that end. 5.2 We want WA government departments and agencies to be required to purchase from West Australian suppliers who are price and quality competitive and who comply with the terms of this policy. 5.3 We are committed to the West Australian government avoiding a whole of contract procurement approach. This favours companies that can provide all goods and services required by an agency, at the expense of excluding small to medium local suppliers from participating in the tendering process. In line with government policy to award a greater share of government procurement contracts to small business, contracts to small and medium local suppliers for goods and services should be increased. This should apply also to the use of Common Contracts Purchasing where only one company is awarded a contract to supply all of a particular good or service to government, e.g. stationary supplies, IT, motor vehicles etc. The use of a variety of suppliers will not only provide for ongoing competition but will also ensure that smaller, local businesses are supported. Contracts should only be awarded totally out of state or offshore only in circumstances where it is evidence that the goods or services cannot be sourced locally. Where parts of the goods and services are thus 5

7 available locally, preference will be given to those contractors who include the use of such local providers. 5.4 In the event of contracts being awarded offshore companies, successful tenderers should be required to demonstrate compliance with the relevant employment standards contained within the UN human rights instruments, the ILO Conventions and where applicable the OCED Principle for Multi-National Enterprises. Opportunities will be afforded to stakeholders to verify such compliance via the consultative mechanisms 5.5 We support the state governments Buy Local Policy initiative which requires that all government agencies achieve 80 per cent of their spending in regional areas (excluding contracts undertaken within the Perth Metro area) 2. This initiative should be increased to 90 per cent to support local businesses in regional areas. 5.6 Contracts which total in excess of $50 million per annum are of national significance. Where such contracts are for services or goods, and material is predominantly provided from offshore, the successful tenderers must comply with the additional obligations to those outlined in clause 4.6 above. Wherever feasible, the successful tenderers must be required to enter into contractual arrangements that maximise opportunities for full and fair Australian industry participation. If it has been determined that a reasonable opportunity exists for the local provision of such services and material, those contractual arrangements would include;; Local skills development, including the investment in training for higher-level broad based qualifications and retraining of all existing workers;; Effective labour market planning and forecasting;; The use of skilled migration only when a genuine skills shortage has been demonstrated to exist. 5.7 In assessing high labour content service contracts, the government should ensure that sufficient staffing is proposed to allow a high quality service to be delivered. Any such 2 WA Department of Finance, 2013, Who Buys What and How: An Overview of Western Australian Government Purchasing, _2012_13_full_report.pdf 6

8 contract should not be awarded at the exclusion of a Public sector agency that may be able to deliver that service. 5.8 The state government is to ensure that small business suppliers are not disadvantaged through the continual delay in payment for goods and services. We call for the reinstatement of a fair payment scheme, which would require all goods and services accounts to be paid in full within 30 days of the account being rendered. 6. Implementation of Sustainable Procurement 6.1 We support the development and implementation of sustainable procurement strategies, policies, guidelines and tools within the state. Through the following initiatives;; Adopt strategies to avoid unnecessary consumption and manage demand;; Selection of products and/or services that have low environmental impact;; Supporting Western Australian business and industry groups that demonstrate innovation in sustainability;; Support applications for suppliers who are socially responsible and adopt ethical practices Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment 7.1 We are committed to strategies which includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business, employment or outcome targets in all government procurement and purchasing. This is consistent with current procurement guidelines at the commonwealth and some other state government levels. The Union supports the ACTU s call on unions, governments, industry bodies and employers to develop and implement targeted, quantitative schemes which will address high unemployment and 3 Department of Finance, 2014, Sustainable Procurement Practice Guidelines, goods_and_services_sustainable_procurement_practice_guidelines.pdf 7

9 low levels of certified training in areas with a high density of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 8. Consultation 8.1 We want the government to commit to using tripartite consultative mechanisms, and creating new ones as appropriate, to enable stakeholders to regularly monitor the effective implementation and compliance with this policy and to suggest modifications where necessary. 8