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ILO Governing Body concludes 335th session

The ILO Governing Body ended its 335th session on 28 March 2019, having agreed, among other things, on details of the ILO’s Centenary International Labour Conference. ILO News discussed the highlights of the Session with Juan Llobera, Clerk of the Governing Body.

Press release | 02 April 2019

ILO News: The Governing Body discussed arrangements for the Centenary Session of the International Labour Conference. Can you give some details?

Governing Body delegates finalized the programme of work and arrangements specific to the 108th Centenary Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC).

The Centenary ILC’s plenary session will be structured in four distinct parts: 1) the opening sitting; (2) the high-level section with visits from Heads of State and Governments, which will take place at the beginning of the first week and the end of the second week; (3) discussion of the reports of the Director-General and the Chairperson of the Governing Body; and (4) adoption of committee outcomes and the closing ceremony.

The plenary of the 108th Session of the Conference will provide ILO constituents with an exceptional opportunity to reflect on the history and to lay the grounds for the Organization’s future. Instead of his usual thematic report, the Director-General has decided to transmit the report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work to the Conference for deliberations in its plenary.

It is proposed that the ILC appoint two technical committees. The Standards-Setting Committee will hold a second discussion on violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work. A Committee of the Whole will consider an ILO Centenary outcome document, which the Governing Body recommends should take the form of a Centenary Declaration.

There will be a series of thematic debates and events connected to the future of work. The aim is to stimulate debate on the future of the world of work between Conference participants, heads of international organizations, business, trade unions, policymakers, civil society, academia and young people. The themes could include the future of youth, skills and lifelong learning, technology, formalizing work for social inclusion, the future of social dialogue, tripartism, freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Governing Body delegates provided guidance on the building blocks for the Centenary Declaration that will reaffirm the ILO’s mandate and core principles. The Declaration is also expected to cover current and anticipated major developments, challenges and opportunities for the world of work, and set the long-term strategic direction for the ILO and the means of action to be taken.

In light of the outcome of discussions at the Centenary Session (2019), the Governing Body will assess the implications for the agendas of the 2020 and 2021 ILC’s at its October/November meeting.

ILO News: The Governing Body discussed the ILO Programme and Budget proposals. Can you tell us about the outcome?

Delegates discussed the Director-General’s Programme and Budget proposals for 2020-21. They have proposed to the ILC a resolution on the 2020-21 programme and budget, and the allocation of expenses among members States’. After several biennia of zero real growth, these proposals represent a slight budget increase of 1.57 per cent.

Delegates also requested that the Director-General present to the October-November 337th session of the Governing Body, complementary information on the results framework (outcomes, indicators, baselines and targets) for the biennium, reflecting the outcomes of the June 2019 ILC.

ILO News: Can you tell us briefly about some of the other main items that came up during the 335th session?

The Governing Body discussed the revised plan of action on social dialogue and tripartism for the period 2019–23, and the review of the annual reports submitted as part of the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. It endorsed the plan of action on labour migration governance. Delegates also requested the Director-General to implement the strategic plan for engagement with regard to the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169).

There were also discussions on progress on the implementation of the Standards Initiative and the Enterprises Initiative, plans for UN reform, the ILO’s contribution to the SDGs, and the implementation of the ILO Institutional Capacity Development Strategy.

Delegates discussed the situation in Myanmar, as a follow-up to the resolution adopted by the 102nd ILC in 2013. They welcomed the signature of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Myanmar in September 2018.

The Governing Body approved the 388th report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, as usual.

ILO News: There was also a change in the composition of the Officers of the Governing Body.

The Governing Body elected Silvia Elena Alfaro Espinosa, the new Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations Office in Geneva, as its new Chairperson, until June 2019.

Alfaro Espinosa replaces Claudio Julio de la Puente Ribeyro, who has taken up a new diplomatic assignment as the Ambassador of Peru to Spain.

Mthunzi Mdwaba from South Africa, and Catelene Passchier from the Netherlands continue to act as employer and worker spokespersons.