GENEVA (ILO News) – The 91st annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded its work today following an impassioned and constructive debate on work as a way out poverty. The Conference also adopted a new Convention on seafarers' identity and advanced other measures addressing current issues in the world of work.
"Whether addressing immediate threats to security at work or tackling long-term challenges like global poverty, the ILO has shown that it is relevant, effective and grounded in a detailed knowledge of how the world works", ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in his wrap-up of the Conference.
Mr. Somavia called the new Convention on seafarers identity, adopted by a vote of 392 for, none against and 20 abstentions, a "pioneering work in a sensitive area" which guarantees "a balance between the rights of the world's 1.2 million seafarers, as well as trade interests and security concerns".
The gathering of the ILO's 176 member-States also made progress on key workplace issues such as a global strategy for fighting occupational injuries and illnesses that kill some 2 million workers a year, advancing efforts to build a foundation for a new Recommendation on disguised employment; and adopting a programme and budget for 2004-2005 of over USD $529.6 million (estimated at an exchange rate of 1.34 Swiss francs to the US dollars).
The Conference President was Hon. Michael Christopher Wamalwa, Vice-President and Labour Minister of Kenya. The Conference elected as Vice-Presidents Mr. Bryan Noakes (Employers) of Australia, Mr. Tomasz Wojcik (Workers) of Poland, and Mr. Muzahem Al Muhaisin (Governments), Minister of Labour of Jordan.
Two eminent guest speakers addressed the Conference. H.E. President Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa appealed to the moral conscience of the international community and called for urgent global action to address poverty. H. M. King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan told delegates that the "war on want" must be won in order to "heal the divisions and despair that feed global violence".
Working out of Poverty
The highlight of the Conference was an impassioned discussion on what Mr. Somavia called "the missing link in the global fight against poverty". Some 300 delegates addressed the issue, pledging to pursue the war on poverty not only at the international and national levels, but among those who need it most – the world's 3 billion people who live on or less than $2 per day.
"I take great heart from this recognition that Decent Work is both an end in itself and also a means to achieve important goals, especially poverty eradication", Mr. Somavia said. "This makes the work of the ILO extremely relevant to the political challenges faced by very many countries today."
Among the analytical, policy and operational tools proposed by delegates for ending poverty were the establishing of funds for skills development, promoting decent work in the context of a global drive for poverty reduction, launching national and local discussions on ways to ensure that a "pro-poor, pro-jobs" policies are pursued, improving the research, advocacy and service tools available to fight poverty and developing new thinking on the Strategic Policy Framework of ILO programme delivery and policy integration mechanisms to mainstream the ideas of working out of poverty into the daily work of the ILO.
Seafarers
The new Convention on Seafarers' Identity Documents replaces ILO Convention No. 108, adopted in 1958. It establishes a more rigorous identity regime for seafarers with the aim of developing effective security from terrorism and ensuring that the world's 1.2 million seafarers will be given the freedom of movement necessary for their well-being and for their professional activities and, in general, to facilitate international commerce.
The Convention sets out the basic parameters and allows the details in its annexes, like the precise form of the identity document (ID), to be easily adapted subsequently to keep up with technological developments. A major feature of the new ID, on which full agreement was reached, will be a biometric template based on a fingerprint. A Resolution accompanying the Convention requests the ILO Director-General to take urgent measures for the development of "a global interoperable standard for the biometric, particularly in cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)". It also makes provision for the facilitation of shore leave and transit and transfer of seafarers, including the exemption from holding a visa for seafarers taking shore leave.
To avoid the risk of an ID being issued to the wrong person, the Convention also requires ratifying member States to maintain a proper database available for international consultation by authorized officials and to have and observe adequate procedures for the issuance of IDs. Those procedures, which cover not only the security aspects but also the necessary safeguards for individual rights, including data protection, will be subject to transparent procedures for international oversight.
With the heightened concerns about port security since the 9/11 attacks, a new seafarers' identity document will be a substantial contribution to international security by helping to ensure that the identity of seafarers in ports, airports and aboard ships can be positively established through the most modern means available.
Palestinian workers
As in previous years, the Conference also held a special sitting to debate the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories. A rich debate reflect the broad spectrum of views of the ILO international tripartite constituency. Recognizing the ILO endeavours to promote capacity building in Palestine, speakers stressed the need for furthering ILO's technical cooperation assistance to stimulate employment, combat poverty, and strengthen capacities of the social partners and the Ministry of Labour of the Palestinian Authority. Speakers also expressed the hope that the so-called "road map" peace proposal would give an impetus to political efforts aimed at bringing about peace in the region.
The debate also highlighted the role of the ILO in promoting a dialogue that will help in building confidence among all the parties in the region. Many speakers confirmed their support to the ILO initiative in creating "The Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection". They urged the ILO and the international donor community to provide every support to have this fund fully operational.
Occupational Health and Safety
Delegates also reached an unprecedented agreement on a global strategy on occupational health and safety, which calls for "coherent and focussed" worldwide action to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and disease among workers. The ILO estimates that 2 million people die every year of work related causes, 354,000 of them due to fatal accidents. In addition, 270 million occupational accidents and 160 million occupational diseases hit workers every year.
The global strategy approved by government, employer and worker delegates should be implemented through an action plan based on a strategy with two fundamental pillars: the first involves the introduction of a "preventative safety and health culture" which calls for guarantees of the right to a safe and healthy working environment by all through the agreement of the ILO social partners to a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties with prevention as the highest priority.
The second pillar is aimed at the development of an integrated ILO occupational safety and health "tool box" to assist the tripartite constituents in transforming the goals of the global strategy into reality. The main tools include the elaboration of a promotional instrument designed to put safety and health higher on the agenda of member States, and a structured use of technical assistance and cooperation focussed on the establishment and implementation of national OSH programmes by governments in close collaboration with employers and workers. If the Governing Body so decides, work for such a comprehensive instrument could start at the 2005 session of the Conference.
Employment relationship
The Committee on the Employment Relationship agreed on a number of conclusions, asking the ILO to prepare a Recommendation on the employment relationship. The adopted text promotes flexibility "to take account of different economic, social, legal and industrial relations traditions" and underlines the "dynamic" character of the employment relationship which must adapt constantly to new challenges on the labour market.
The proposed Recommendation would focus on "disguised" employment relationships (i.e., workers who are in fact employees but their status is disguised or hidden) and on the need for mechanisms to ensure that persons with an employment relationship have access to the protection they are due at the national level.
There was also consensus on the issue that a future Recommendation "should not interfere with genuine commercial and independent contracting arrangements". The Committee requested the ILO Governing Body to place this issue on the agenda of a future session of the International Labour Conference.
Application of standards
As part of ILO efforts to end the use of forced labour in Myanmar, the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards had a special sitting following up measures taken in the context of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution. The Committee also discussed the events which have taken place since its December 2002 session, including the appointment of a facilitator for complaints of forced labour and a recent agreement on a plan of action to eradicate forced labour.
Opening the debate at the Plenary session of Conference on 9 June, the Director-General urged authorities in Myanmar to take immediate measures to release Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters and guarantee their freedom as well as to continue in collaboration with the ILO to end forced labour in the country.
The Committee considered cases in 25 countries and drew the special attention of the Conference to its discussions of Belarus and Myanmar. The Committee cited both countries for nonobservance of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No.87) and "continued failure over several years" to implement the Convention. Regarding Belarus, the committee firmly urged the Government "to take all the necessary measures in the near future" to bring an end to "its interference in the internal affairs of trade unions".
The Committee also urged the Government of Colombia to immediately take the necessary measures to put an end to the situation of insecurity so that workers' and employers' organizations could fully exercise the rights they are entitled to under the Convention, by restoring respect for fundamental human rights, in particular the right to life and security.
In its report, the Committee also expressed special concern over the situation in Cameroon, Libya, Mauritania and Zimbabwe. The Committee urged the government of Libya "to adopt specific and concrete measures" with a view to achieving full conformity of the legislation with the ILO's Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118), ensuring "full observance of the principles of equality of treatment in the area of social security".
As regards the application by Mauritania of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29), the Committee expressed "deep concern at the persistence of situations which constituted grave violations of the prohibition of forced labour".
In the case of Cameroon, the Committee urged the Government "to ensure that workers in both the private and the public sectors could establish and freely administer their organizations without the intervention of the public authorities".
Finally, the Committee noted "persistent violations" of the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) in Zimbabwe and requested the Government to accept an ILO direct contacts mission to examine the whole situation on the spot and inform the Committee on legislative developments and on the outstanding issues.
The Committee highlighted also persistent situations of deferred payment of wages, abusive practices of payment of wages in kind or the gradual erosion of the privileged protection of workers' wage claims in bankruptcy procedures in several countries. The discussion of a general survey on the issue by the Committee of Experts confirmed the continued relevance of the relevant ILO standards (Convention No. 95 and Recommendation No. 85) and the need to promote related instruments such as Convention No. 173.
Human resources
The Conference also held a first discussion on a new international labour standard on human resources development. This new instrument is expected to replace ILO Recommendation No. 150 on Human Resources Development which was adopted in 1975. In its conclusions on the contents of a future Recommendation, the Conference Committee on Human Resources Development recognized human resources development as a key component of the response needed to facilitate lifelong learning and employability and calls for the involvement of social partners and a renewed commitment of governments, the private sector and individuals, to education, training and lifelong learning.
Discrimination, social security, child labour
During a special sitting, delegates held an in-depth discussion on ways to overcome discrimination at work based on the ILO's Global Report " Time for Equality at Work", under the follow-up to the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Many delegates noted that connection between discrimination and poverty, saying that discrimination erodes self-esteem and breeds frustration and powerlessness.
The discussion highlighted the importance of legal underpinnings of fighting discrimination, as well as the importance to equality in the workplace to communities business and other sectors. The discussion also noted that despite decades of efforts, women, different races and ethnic minorities are still far from enjoying equality of opportunity and treatment. The discussion also affirmed that discrimination is a major cause of poverty and that new forms based on age, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status and disability were emerging.
The ILO also announced on 18 June that it would spearhead a campaign to encourage countries to extend social security to more of their citizens. Noting that only one out of five people in the world has adequate social security coverage, the ILO said the " Global Campaign on Social Security and Coverage for All" reflected a global consensus on the part of governments and employers' and workers' organizations to broaden social security coverage among working people, particularly in the informal economy, and raise awareness worldwide about the role of social security in economic and social development. The campaign will seek to develop a broad partnership involving international organizations, donor countries, social security institutions and civil society organizations.
On child labour, the Conference marked the second World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June with an address by H. M. Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Queen urged the world to "join hands" to fight child trafficking. The ILO estimates that some 1.2 million children become victims of child trafficking each year.