ILO – Ministry of Human Resources, Youth & Sports

High-Level Seminar on Eight Fundamental International Labour Conventions

Male Maldives

8 – 10 March 2010

Honourable Vice President Mr. Hassan Waheed

Honourable Minister of Human Resources, Youth & Sports, Hassan Latheef

Honourable Minister for Economic Development

Honourable Attorney General

Representatives from other ministries

Representatives from the employers’ organisations and the private sector and representatives from the employees’ associations,

Mr. Mansoor Ali, UNRC a.i.

Heads of UN agencies in the Maldives

Representatives from academia and from civil society groups.

It is a great honour to be standing here this morning on behalf of the International Labour Organisation, addressing you at the beginning of a three day seminar on the eight core conventions of the ILO. This is the first high-level seminar after the Maldives became of the ILO in May 2009.

Let me begin by putting on record my great appreciation for the firm commitment by the President of the Maldives, His Excellency Mohamad Nasheed who himself on several occasions over the last year has articulated his and his government’s strong commitment to the values of the ILO.

Your Excellency, Mr. Vice-President, you have discussed with me the importance of initiating the consultation process for the ratification of ILO Conventions, the subject of this three-day seminar, - it is indeed a great honour to have you here with us this morning.

Honourable Minister Latheef, with whom we have worked closely over the last year, let me thank you for your great support to get things moving and for last week coming to Colombo and attending a four Country Seminar on two of ILO’s fundamental Conventions, Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.

Since the Maldives is a new member of the ILO, let me bring in a bit of ILO history into my address this morning.

The ILO was founded in 1919 and became a spezialized agency of the United Nations in 1946, which makes us older than the UN itself! ILO currently has 183 member states (the Maldives is number 183 !) and it has a unique tripartite structure which brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers on an equal footing to address issues related to labour and social policy. The ILO’s broad policies are set by the International Labour Conference, which meets once a year and brings together its constituents. The Conference also adopts new international labour standards and the ILO’s work-plan and budget for a period of two years at a time.

This June, the Maldives will participate for the first time as a member state with a four person’s delegation, consisting of two from the government and one from the workers and one from the employers’ organisations.

Between the sessions of the Conference, the ILO is guided by the Governing Body, which is composed of 28 government members as well as 14 employer members and 14 worker members.

In 1919, the signatory nations to the Treaty of Versailles created the International Labour Organization (ILO) in recognition of the fact that “conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled”. To tackle this problem, the newly founded organization established a system of international labour standards – international conventions and recommendations drawn up by representatives of governments, employers and workers from around the world – covering all matters related to work. What the ILO’s founders recognized in 1919 was that the global economy needed clear rules in order to ensure that economic progress would go hand in hand with social justice, prosperity and peace for all.

How does all this relate to the situation of the Maldives in 2010, more than 90 years after the ILO was created ? The aspiration for social justice, through which every working man and woman can claim freely and on the basis of equality of opportunity their fair share of the wealth they have helped to generate, is as great today as when the ILO was created in 1919. The aspirations and struggles for social justice in the Maldives are fresh and still in their infancy, the democratic culture has still to take root, institutions to maintain and safeguard the new rights that the country gave to its citizens with the new Constitution in 2008 are yet to find their feet and in some instances yet to be created.

In that very same year that the new Constitution gave Maldivian men and women the right to strike, a landmark Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, was adopted by governments, workers and employers at the International Labour Conference in Geneva. A Maldivian delegation actually participated as observers witnessing this historic Declaration.

The Declaration on Social Justice is designed to strengthen the ILO’s capacity to promote its Decent Work agenda and forge an effective response to the growing challenges of globalization. The Decent Work Agenda which takes up many of the same challenges that the Organization faced at its inception in 1919, aims to achieve decent work for all by promoting social dialogue (which is the democratic expression of consultation governments, workers and employers), social protection and employment creation, as well as respect for international labour standards.

Today, tomorrow and on Wednesday, we will discuss the eight core conventions of the ILO, they are also called the human rights conventions in the world of work. They cover four main areas: child labour, forced labour, discrimination and the right to organise and collective bargaining.

So what are these international labour standards about and how do they affect us ? Well, international labour standards are first of all about the development of people as human beings. In the ILO’s Declaration of Philadelphia in 1944, the international community recognized that “labour is not a commodity”. Indeed, labour is not like an apple or a TV set, a product which can be negotiated for the highest profit or the lowest price. Work is part of everyone’s daily life and is crucial to a person’s dignity, well-being and development as a human being. Economic development should include the creation of jobs and working conditions in which people can work in freedom, safety and dignity. In short, economic development is not undertaken for its own sake but to improve the lives of human beings; international labour standards are there to ensure that it remains focused on improving human life and dignity.

Let me also say, that ILS are sometimes perceived as entailing significant costs and thus hindering economic development. A growing body of research indicates, however, that compliance with ILS often accompanies improvements in productivity and economic performance. Higher wage and working time standards and respect for equality can translate into better and more satisfied workers and lower turnover of staff. Investment in vocational training can result in a better trained workforce and higher employment levels. Safety standards can reduce costly accidents and health care fees. Employment protection can encourage workers to take risks and to innovate. Social protection such as unemployment schemes and active labour market policies can facilitate labour market flexibility; they make economic liberalization and privatization sustainable and more acceptable to the public. Freedom of association and collective bargaining can lead to better labour-management consultation and cooperation, thereby reducing the number of costly labour conflicts and enhancing social stability.

The beneficial effects of labour standards also do not go unnoticed by foreign investors. Studies have shown that in their criteria for choosing countries in which to invest, foreign investors rank workforce quality and political and social stability above low labour costs. At the same time, there is little evidence that countries which do not respect labour standards are more competitive in the global economy.

We hope that the three days we have organised for you will be interactive, full of questions and curiosity. It is important to discuss and dialogue to ensure that the Conventions are understood correctly so that the Maldives can get the best out of them in pursuing its economic and social policy. We hope that for each of the Conventions we can get a clear picture of what needs to be done in order to pave way for ratification. The ILO will provide technical assistance in the follow-up to these three days, to help the country revise or draft new legislation, if necessary.

Among ILOs member states, there are currently over 1290 ratifications of these conventions, representing 88,5% of the possible number of ratifications.

Today is International Women’s Day and two of the Conventions we will be talking about, specifically addresses issues related to working women, Convention 100 and Convention 111, On equal remuneration for both men and women for work of equal value and secondly discrimination (recruitment and in employment) based on gender, race, political affiliation etc.

With the new membership, you will now be engaging with other countries in setting the international agenda in the world of work. Once again, welcome in the ILO ! We are looking forward to a strong and fruitful relationship.