GENEVA (ILO News) - The Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) concluded its 291st session after considering strategies for the promotion of a fair globalization and a number of issues regarding fundamental rights at work, including Myanmar and Belarus and other countries.
The Governing Body called for a very high level evaluation of the readiness of the Government of Myanmar to deal with forced labour. It also discussed the report of a Commission of Inquiry on trade union rights in Belarus.
Strategies to promote fair globalization
The Governing Body discussed the proposed draft Strategic Policy Framework (SPF) for 2006-2009 and took note of the document taking into account the views expressed by government, workers' and employers' delegates during its discussion. It further requested the Director-General to take this discussion and the preview of the Programme and Budget Proposals for 2006-07 into account during the preparation of the programme and budget proposals for the next biennium.
The intention of the SPF 2006-2009 is to make decent work a global goal, and to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. This is to be the ILO's contribution to more coherent national development policies, and convergence and synergy in international policy advice between labour, social, macroeconomic, trade and investment policies.
A Report of the independent World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization established by the ILO calls for an "urgent rethink" of current policies and institutions involved in the governance of globalization and outlines a vision for making it fair for all. To this effect, forging effective partnerships within the multilateral system was seen as vital for a successful follow-up to the report. Different views on how to achieve this were made in a wide-ranging discussion on the ILO's contribution to the realization of the goals set out by the Commission.
Delegates to the Governing Body also welcomed a report on the progress made to date and plans for follow-up to the expanded programme of technical cooperation for the occupied Arab territories and lent their support to future follow-up activities, including resource mobilization and development of concrete technical assistance programmes.
In 2004-05, funding for the ILO's technical cooperation programme in the occupied territories, including the Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection established in May 2003, has reached the level of US$3.48 million.
Myanmar and Belarus
The Governing Body decided that a very high level mission should be sent to Myanmar in order to evaluate the will of the government to combat efficiently the use of forced labour. This was considered necessary because there have been recent changes in the government, and the authorities with which the ILO has been negotiating are no longer in their jobs.
There are also several outstanding questions relating to allegations on the use of forced labour, which the ILO Liaison Officer has transmitted to the authorities. The Governing Body considered that the response to particularly worrying cases will demonstrate the extent of the current government's will to solve these matters.
The Governing Body will discuss the situation in the light of the report of high-level contacts with the government at its next session in March 2005. At that time, it should draw conclusions for either pursuing the special measures adopted in 2000, including the question of foreign direct investments, or moving ahead with technical cooperation under a joint Plan of Action for the elimination of forced labour.
Workers, employers and a number of governments considered that a reactivation of the measures adopted under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution would have been justified already now. However, the Governing Body decided to give priority at this stage to a high-level evaluation of the situation.
The measures imply that the ILO would ask all its member states to review their economic and other relations with Myanmar in the light of the continuing utilization of forced labour in that country.
With respect to freedom of association, the Governing Body considered a report issued by an ILO Commission of Inquiry concluding that the Belarus trade union movement has been and continues to be the subject of significant interference on the part of Government authorities.
In its report, the Commission of Inquiry stresses the importance of ensuring full respect for the basic civil liberties of trade union members and leaders. It considers that many of these, in particular the right to freely express one's opinion, to freely seek and impart information and ideas through the media, and freedom of assembly, have been seriously infringed in Belarus.
The Commission's recommendations include the immediate registration of trade union organizations involved in the complaint and the elimination of all obstacles to the right to organize created by current decrees, rules and regulations; guaranteed protection to carry out their activities freely for those organizations that have suffered interference in their internal affairs; and the wide dissemination in Belarus of all its conclusions and recommendations without delay.
Several of the Commission's recommendations carry a deadline of 1 June 2005.
The Governing Body took note of the report and the reply of the government of Belarus, and referred the follow-up of the case to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. The Committee will also discuss new allegations from trade unions on continued violations of trade union rights in Belarus. The Minister of Labour of Belarus, Ms. Antonina Morova, said that the government accepted the recommendations and would work for their implementation.
Other cases of freedom of association
The Governing Body also approved the 335th report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. At its November meeting, the Committee examined 36 cases. Altogether there are currently 140 cases before the Committee.
The Committee once again drew special attention to the case of Colombia concerning numerous murders and other acts of violence against trade union leaders and members. Since its last examination in March 2004, the Committee has received allegations concerning 42 murders, 17 death threats, three abductions and 11 arrests. The case of Colombia has been examined by the Committee since 1995.
The Committee strongly urged the Government to take the necessary measures to put an end to the intolerable situation of impunity in the country and to punish effectively all those responsible.
The Committee also drew the attention of the Governing Body to the case of the Republic of Korea.
On the outstanding question of the right to organize for public servants in the Republic of Korea, the Committee noted that despite clear efforts on the part of the Government to resolve this issue, the right to organize has yet to be consecrated in law.
The Committee therefore urged the Government to take the necessary measures in the very near future so as to ensure that all public servants fully enjoy the right to establish and join trade union organizations of their own choosing and to provide it with information on the outcome of the administrative litigation and requests for examination under way in respect of the dismissed public servants.
The Korean case has been examined by the Committee on numerous occasions since 1996. The Governing Body adopted the recommendations of the Committee on the Korean and Colombian cases and 34 others.
The Governing Body is the executive body of the
International Labour Office (the Office is the
secretariat of the Organization). It meets three
times a year, in March, June and November and takes
decisions on ILO policy, the agenda of the
International Labour Conference and the draft
Programme and Budget of the Organization for
submission to the Conference.
It is composed of 56 titular members (28
Governments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers) and 66
deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers and 19
Workers). Ten of the titular government seats are
permanently held by States of chief industrial
importance (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India,
Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United
Kingdom and the United States). The other
Government members are elected by the Conference
every three years.