GENEVA (ILO News) Delegates to the 86 th session of the International Labour Conference, which gets underway in Geneva on Tuesday, 2 June, are set to debate the text of a groundbreaking declaration on fundamental human rights at work.
The draft declaration would solemnly commit the organizations' member States to work towards the realization of the fundamental principles contained in seven ILO core standards: freedom of association and collective bargaining, elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, effective abolition of child labour. (Endnote 1)
The Conference will also debate the first draft of new international instruments to eliminate the most intolerable forms of child labour, including child slavery, trafficking, prostitution and work in hazardous industries, such as mines, plantations and manufacturing.
The guest of honour at this year's Conference is His Excellency Rafael Caldera, President of the Republic of Venezuela, who will address a special plenary sitting in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday 9 June at 10:00, followed by a press conference.
Another special guest, Mrs. Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will address conference delegates in the Assembly Hall on Wednesday 10 June at 10:00.
On Wednesday afternoon (from 3 to 6 p.m.) there will be an informal tripartite meeting at the ministerial level on More and Better Jobs for Women, an ILO technical cooperation programme designed to improve the working conditions of women worldwide.
On Thursday, 11 June, in the afternoon, there will be a Special Sitting on the Director-General's Report on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab Territories.
The Conference gets underway at 11:00, Tuesday June 2 and runs until Thursday, 18 June. The opening plenary session in the Assembly Hall of the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva will elect the Conference President.
On that day, the Conference will be the final destination for a "Global March Against Child Labour" which will see hundreds of young people and activists converging on the Organisation's headquarters and the Conference venue to demonstrate their opposition to child labour.
At approximately 12:00, the opening plenary session will adjourn and participants in the Global March will be invited into the Conference Hall where they will be greeted by the President of the Conference and the Director-General. A representative of the March will address the delegates. A joint press conference between the ILO and the Global March is expected to follow at 13:00.
While most child labour is found in developing countries, industrialized economies are not free of the scourge either. In Eastern and Central Europe, for example, child labour has been reappearing in the wake of social and economic dislocation caused by the transition to a market economy.
Of the estimated 250 million child workers in developing countries who work full or part-time, 61 percent are in Asia, 32 percent are in Africa and 7 percent in Latin America. Although Asia has the largest number of child workers, Africa has the highest incidence at around 41 percent of children between 5 and 14 years old. The corresponding proportion in Asia is approximately one-half of the level in Africa (22 percent) and it is 17 percent in Latin America.
Declaration on Fundamental Rights
The draft declaration will be dealt with in a special Conference Committee. The Director-General of the ILO, Mr. Michel Hansenne, said that while the proposed Declaration of Principles is a response to the growing expectations of the international community to increase respect for the values and standards of the Organisation, the debate goes to the heart of the ILO mandate: "What is under consideration here is nothing less than the basic ground rules for promoting social justice in the global economy and the credibility of the ILO in helping its Members to achieve those standards."
He said the adoption of the Declaration and its appropriate follow-up mechanism would demonstrate the willingness of countries to promote the conditions which are essential "to ensure that social progress proceeds apace with economic growth, technological development and trade liberalisation." He argued that while there is no question of imposing new obligations on ILO member States against their will, "the practices which the declaration sets out to eliminate are fully inconsistent with the commitments and values inherent in ILO membership."
The text of the declaration and the follow-up mechanism have been developed in close collaboration with ILO tripartite constituents (representing governments, employers and workers) and in often painstaking discussions held in the ILO Governing Body during the past two years.
The impetus for the declaration stems from concerns that have arisen both within the ILO and the international community over the processes of globalization and the possible social consequences of trade liberalisation. At the UN World Summit for Social Development, which took place in Copenhagen in March 1995, the Heads of State and Governments of 117 countries urged governments to enhance the quality of work and employment by fully implementing ILO Conventions on fundamental rights in States that have ratified them and to take into account the principles embodied in those Conventions in States that have not.
Additional international support for ILO standards came from the first WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore at which the trade ministers from 127 member countries and territories affirmed in their final Declaration "We renew our commitment to the observance of internationally recognised core labour standards" and cited the ILO as "the competent body to set and deal with these standards."
Following the Copenhagen Summit, the ILO launched an intensive campaign among its Members to increase the number of ratifications of core standards. In 1995, when the campaign for ratifications started, only 23 States had ratified all seven fundamental Conventions; today that number has grown to 35 and more than new 80 ratifications have been registered. The campaign to achieve universal ratification will continue. However, a further 250 ratifications would be necessary to achieve universal ratification.
The ILO Governing Body in 1997 endorsed a proposal by the Employers, supported by a number of Governments and the Workers' group to make the mandate of the ILO more explicit "by means of a document, which might take the form of a Declaration, which could be adopted by the Conference. This document would not modify the (ILO) Constitution, but would clarify its meaning in relation to the fundamental principles."
The Director General of the ILO, in his 1997 Report to the International Labour Conference, set out his vision of a revitalised system of international labour standards. This encompassed universal respect for fundamental human rights at work as addressed in the seven core Conventions and a solemn Declaration reaffirming the commitment of all ILO member States, by virtue of their membership in the Organisation, to abide by the principles of those Conventions.
Hence the importance of the Declaration to give effect to the conclusions of the Copenhagen Summit and provide an adequate response to the numerous calls within and outside the ILO for renewed respect of core standards. Mr. Hansenne has underscored the importance of the process, warning that "failure of the project to bear fruit will inevitably be perceived as a failure of the philosophy and methodology of voluntary action, which the Organisation has stated to be the most effective and appropriate for achieving its objectives of progress and social justice."
Contract Labour
Other items on the 86th Conference agenda include a discussion of a Convention and Recommendation on contract labour and a proposed Recommendation on the necessary conditions to stimulate job creation in small and medium sized enterprises.
The proposed Convention would focus on ensuring adequate protection for contract workers. Last year, delegates struggled with the definition of the term "contract labour" and the closely related issue of the scope of the proposed instruments.
The new draft legal instrument outlines measures aimed at preventing accidents and injury to contract workers, providing protection in relation to meeting financial obligations towards contract workers, ensuring that rights or obligations under labour and social security laws are not denied or avoided when contract labour is used, and promoting equality of treatment between contract workers and workers with recognized employment relationships.
The draft Recommendation would provide more detailed guidance in relation to these provisions. It would also address issues such as encouragement of collective bargaining in this field, compilation of statistics on contract labour and protection for contract workers from other countries. At the conclusion of last year's discussion, employers and some Governments remained firmly opposed to the adoption of new standards on contract labour, while workers and a majority of Governments gave their support.
Helping SMEs create new jobs
Faced with continuing concern over employment, especially in light of the impact of globalization on jobs, the 86 th International Labour Conference is on track to adopt a Recommendation on general conditions to stimulate job creation in small and medium-sized enterprises, which generate more than 80 per cent of new jobs in the world today.
A Recommendation sets a non-binding, international benchmark for activities. In order to create a business environment conducive to the growth and development of SMEs, the Committee last year recommended that member States should adopt policies to promote a stable economic environment, as regards inflation, interest and exchange rates, taxation and employment and social stability, remove constraints to the development and growth of SMEs, include specific measures aimed at assisting and upgrading the informal sector to become part of the organized sector, ensure the extension of social protection to workers in SMEs and compliance with social security regulations.
It also called on member States to adopt measures in consultation with representatives of employers and workers, to create and strengthen an "enterprise culture" favouring initiative, enterprise creation, productivity, environmental consciousness, quality, good labour and industrial relations. The Committee also called for consideration to be given to the availability of a range of direct and indirect support services to enhance the growth, job-creation potential and competitiveness of the SME sector.
Standing Items
The Standing items include reports of the Chairman of the Governing Body and of the Director General, programme and budget and other financial questions, and information and reports on the application of Conventions and Recommendations.
An annual event, the International Labour Conference is expected to draw nearly 3,000 delegates, including labour ministers and leaders of worker and employer organisation from most of the ILO's member States. Each formal delegation is composed of four delegates, two representing the government, and one each representing employers and workers, plus advisers.
The role of the Conference is to adopt international labour standards, establish the budget of the Organisation and elect members of the ILO Governing Body. Since 1919, the Conference has served as a major international forum for debate on social and labour questions of worldwide importance.
Endnote 1:
Freedom of association and collective bargaining (No. 87
and 98); Forced labour (No. 29 and No. 105);
Non-discrimination (No. 100 and No. 111); and Minimum age (No.
138).