GENEVA (ILO News) - Concluding its 274 th session, the ILO Governing Body settled a number of outstanding technical questions related to the follow-up of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work , adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 1998. It also asked the Director-General of the ILO to urgently contact the Government of Myanmar regarding a 1998 Commission of Inquiry finding that use of forced labour was pervasive in the country.
Mr. Juan Somavia, who was sworn in as the new Director-General of ILO, underlined the promotional nature of the Declaration, insisting on its value for "ensuring respect for fundamental rights at work and acting as a powerful spur to national and international efforts to translate economic growth into social equity and employment in countries at all stages of the development path." He promised reinforced ILO technical cooperation for countries working to ratify and implement the fundamental Conventions and the terms of the Declaration.
A first global report, on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, will be prepared for discussion at the International Labour Conference in June 2000. Similar reports on forced labour, the effective elimination of child labour and discrimination in employment will be produced in the years ahead.
Annual reports from countries which have not ratified one or more of the ILO's seven fundamental Conventions * form the other part of the following mechanism. Requests for information for this annual report will be sent immediately after the present session of the Governing Body, with the beginning of November 1999 as the deadline for replies. A first review will be conducted by the Governing Body at its session in March 2000. The Governing Body approved four report forms requesting information from governments which have not ratified one or more of the fundamental Conventions.
The Governing Body also decided that a group of experts would be charged with presenting the conclusions of the annual reports to the Governing Body: seven eminent persons will examine information compiled by the Office on the basis of replies from member States concerned, supplemented by information from employer and worker organisations. They will also present to the Governing Body "an introduction to the compilation based on those reports, drawing its attention to aspects that seem to call for more in-depth discussion". The Director-General was asked to nominate the group of experts for approval by the Governing Body in November 1999. Since the March 1998 session of the ILO's Governing Body, 33 new ratifications of the core Conventions have been registered.
Myanmar
The Governing Body expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of action to comply with the recommendations of a 1998 Commission of Inquiry which detailed "the pervasive use of forced labour imposed on the civilian population throughout Myanmar by the authorities." It asked the Director General again to contact the Government to obtain information of any measures it might have taken and to repeat an offer of technical assistance in this regard.
The Director-General was requested to present his findings in a written report on or before 21 May, 1999 taking into account any information received from the Government as well as information from workers and employers organizations and from other reliable sources.
It also decided that the November session of the Governing Body will include an item entitled: "Measures including recommendations under article 33 of the ILO Constitution, to secure compliance by the Government of Myanmar with the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry." Article 33 allows the ILO to consider any measures necessary to secure compliance with recommendations of a Commission of Inquiry.
Programme and Budget proposals sharpen the focus of ILO activities
A US$ 481,050,000 budget for ILO activities around the world in 2000-01 will be formally submitted for approval to the next session of the International Labour Conference (1-17 June 1999) following a decision reached by the Governing Body.
The current proposal increases resources for all the regional programmes, with greatest emphasis on Africa and Asia. In the 2000-01 budget proposals, net cost savings have enabled a small increase in real terms of US$ 785,000 compared with the current 1998-99 biennium, a sum which will be applied to substantive programme activities.
The ILO's programme and budget sharpens the focus of ILO activities by setting out four strategic objectives for the ILO at the turn of the next century: to promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work; to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and income; to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all; to strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.
Under each strategic objective, a number of international focus programmes (InFocus) of high priority will concentrate and integrate activities already under way while responding to new needs and demands. InFocus programmes cover the promotion of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the progressive elimination of child labour, reconstruction and employment-intensive investment, economic and social security in the next century, the boosting of employment through small enterprise development, safety and health at work, the investment in knowledge, skills and employability and the strengthening of the social partners.
The ILO will also develop a rapid-response capacity to address unforeseen events in order to be able to come quickly to terms with critical situations affecting the world of work, such as those unleashed by the Asian financial crisis in 1998.
Global programmes expand
The Governing Body's Committee on Technical Cooperation also discussed a number of ILO's global programmes, especially concerning child labour.
The ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has made significant progress within the past year, now encompassing a strong global partnership of nearly 90 countries. IPEC has carried out nearly 1,000 action programmes worldwide during the last six years.
Five new countries (Madagascar, Mali, Paraguay, South Africa and Uganda) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ILO, raising the number of formal IPEC partners to 34. IPEC is cooperating less formally with 31 other countries.
In addition, IPEC is now supported by 22 donors. In 1998, first time contributions came from Austria, Finland, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. Moreover, the United States in late 1998 greatly expanded its commitment, with a US$29 million contribution to the programme.
Along with the intensifying work of ILO-IPEC in the field, the 1999 International Labour conference will take up in June the issue of child labour, with a view to adopting new international labour standards banning the worst forms of child labour.
Two other programmes, the International Programme on More and Better Jobs for Women ( WOMEMP) and the global programme on Strategies and Tools against Social Exclusion and Poverty ( STEP) are in the early stages of implementation.
While WOMEMP focuses on the elimination of gender discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, STEP is the ILO's response to the fact that a growing number of people are excluded from any form of social protection. The International Small Enterprise Programme (ISEP) was launched in 1998 to expand the ILO's efforts to promote small enterprise development.
Social initiatives and social dimension of globalization on the agenda
Following its discussion at the November 1998 session of the Governing Body, the Working Party on the Social Dimensions of the Liberalization of International Trade further examined the implications of private sector initiatives, such as codes of conduct and social labelling, for ILO research and operational projects.
After an extensive exchange of views, there was general agreement on the need for further and expanded research on private sector initiatives, to be developed in the 2000-01 programme of work. On the other hand, it was too early to envision the pro-active engagement of the Organization in verifying enterprise performance or in selecting and promoting recommended benchmarks.
The Working Party also discussed a series of country studies on the social impact of globalization. The ILO has completed studies in six countries (Bangladesh, Chile, Mauritius, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Switzerland). The reports show that the liberalization of trade holds the prospect of rising standards of living while substantial adjustment costs are involved in the process of globalization.
Among these costs are rising inequalities in most of the countries under study and a decrease of the demand for unskilled labour. There is also a real danger that short-term capital flows, instead of being a mere reflecting of developments in the real economy, determine exchange rates, trade and employment levels in emerging markets. None of the countries under study, however, has expressed a desire to adopt protectionist solutions.
The studies also show that national governments are not powerless in the face of globalization. The ILO advocates action on four fronts: education and training, social safety nets, labour law and industrial relations, and core labour standards, and says that product-market reforms facilitating innovation and the creation of new enterprises are as important as labour market reforms.
Asian Crisis: Social policy in view
A Symposium devoted to the Asian financial crisis highlighted the extremely high social impact of the crisis, which has resulted in a substantial rise in open unemployment and underemployment and a significant decline in real earnings concentrated mostly in sectors of the economy linked to international trade and financial flows.
Workers and the emerging middle class in urban areas were the worst affected since the rural economy had been relatively insulated from the effects of the crisis. Among the victims of the crisis, vulnerable groups such as women, children, and migrant workers suffered most.
While there are now encouraging signs that currency and financial markets have begun to stabilize and that the preconditions for recovery are in place, complacency must be avoided. The crisis has forged a recognition that the deficiencies of the pre-crisis economic and social systems need to be remedied.
It was agreed that a common new vision for reform is emerging, which recognises the importance of democracy as a guarantor of basic human rights the value of social dialogue for sustaining democracy and an open policy debate. At this stage, the highest priority should be given to the strengthening of systems of social protection. Possible measures include the introduction of unemployment insurance and the expansion of social assistance schemes to relieve extreme poverty.
The ILO and other agencies with a social mandate should work more closely together in order to be better prepared to deal with future crises.
In reviewing ILO action in response to the crisis the symposium highlighted the following issues:
- The ILO needs to strengthen its capacity to respond rapidly to major crises. This involves greater flexibility in reallocating internal resources as well as an augmented capacity to mobilise external resources to put in place emergency programmes to deal with the most dire social problems during crisis situations.
- There should be a strengthened capacity to anticipate the onset of crises in order to allow for preventive action and a greater degree of preparedness to mitigate the social costs of crises. This will involve improved information system for the monitoring and analysis of economic and social developments.
- ILO action should be based on the clear recognition that policy reform and building new institutions is complicated both in terms of design and implementation. It requires sustained effort that is backed up by high quality technical studies and policy advice.
- The ILO should act as a catalyst and facilitator to put in place well-designed programmes of training, retraining, job placement, and the promotion of self-employment targeted to the specific needs of retrenched workers.
The Chairperson of this session of the Governing Body was Mr. Nobutoshi Akao (Japan), Mr. Ralf Thüsing (Germany) the employer Vice-Chairman and Mr. Bill Brett (United Kingdom) the worker Vice-Chairman.
The Governing Body, composed of 28 government members ** , 14 employer members and 14 worker members, convenes three times annually. It is the executive arm of the ILO and takes decisions on the implementation of ILO policies and programmes. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialised countries. The remaining members are elected for three years by governments, workers and employers respectively, taking account of regional distribution.
* 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).
** Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil*, Canada, China*,
Colombia, Congo, Egypt, France*, Germany*, Guinea, Hungary,
India*, Italy*, Japan*, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Nigeria,
Panama, Poland, Russian Federation*, Saudi Arabia, Suriname,
Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom*, United States*.
(* = members holding non-elective seats as States of chief
industrial importance).
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