I. Introduction

1. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, appointed by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office to examine the information and reports submitted under articles 19, 22 and 35 of the Constitution by States Members of the International Labour Organization on the action taken with regard to Conventions and Recommendations, held its 65th Session in Geneva from 16 February to 3 March 1995. The Committee has the honour to present its report to the Governing Body.

2. The Committee learned with deep regret of the death of Mr. José Maria RUDA who chaired the Committee from 1988 to 1994. It wishes to pay tribute to the memory of so eminent a jurist and personality who, throughout his life, and particularly as member, then President of the International Court of Justice, strove constantly for the reign of peace among nations and the establishment of social justice and respect for human rights. In his 17 years of work with the Committee, Mr. José Maria RUDA made an inestimable contribution to promoting the application of international labour standards and reasserting the authority of the ILO's supervisory bodies, exemplifying by his views and behaviour the Committee's tradition of objectivity, independence and impartiality.

3. The Committee also learned with deep sadness of the death, which occurred during the present session, of Mr. Roberto AGO, a member of the Committee since 1979. A special tribute was paid at ILO headquarters to the memory of a man who, by his immense experience, constant attachment to impartiality and objectivity and his firm commitment to the values of the ILO, has made an invaluable contribution to the cause of the Organization's standard-setting activity. An international jurist of great talent, Judge of the International Court of Justice and a negotiator of outstanding ability, Mr. Roberto AGO has left an indelible mark on the work of the Committee. His tireless efforts within the various bodies of the ILO over a period of almost 50 years, in particular as Chairperson of the Committee on Freedom of Association, have been a decisive contribution to the Organization's accomplishments during the second half of the twentieth century.

4. The Committee noted with regret that Mr. Benjamin AARON asked to be relieved of his duties as member of the Committee. It would like to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution he made to the work of the Committee during his nine years as a member, thanks to his vast experience and his steadfast commitment to the principles of the ILO.

5. The Governing Body has appointed Ms. Janice R. BELLACE as a member of the Committee. It gave the Committee great pleasure to welcome her to its present session.

6. The present composition of the Committee is as follows:

Mrs. Badria AL-AWADHI (Kuwait),

Ms. Janice R. BELLACE (United States),

Mr. Prafullachandra Natvarlal BHAGWATI (India),

The Right Honourable Sir William DOUGLAS, PC, KCMG (Barbados),

Ms. Robyn A. LAYTON, Q.C. (Australia),

Mrs. Ewa LETOWSKA (Poland),

Mr. Roman Zinovievich LIVSHITZ (Russian Federation),

Baron Bernd von MAYDELL (Germany),

Mr. Kéba MBAYE (Senegal),

Mr. Cassio MESQUITA BARROS (Brazil),

Mr. Benjamin Obi NWABUEZE (Nigeria),

Mr. Edilbert RAZAFINDRALAMBO (Madagascar),

Mr. Boon Chiang TAN (Singapore),

Mr. Fernando URIBE RESTREPO (Colombia),

Mr. Jean-Maurice VERDIER (France),

Mr. Budislav VUKAS (Croatia),

Sir John WOOD (United Kingdom),

Mr. Toshio YAMAGUCHI (Japan),

7. The Committee elected Sir William DOUGLAS as Chairperson and Mr. E. RAZAFINDRALAMBO as Reporter of the Committee.

8. In pursuance of its terms of reference, as revised by the Governing Body at its 103rd (Geneva, 1947) Session, the Committee was called upon to examine:

(i) the annual reports under article 22 of the Constitution on the measures taken by Members to give effect to the provisions of the Conventions to which they are parties, and the information furnished by Members concerning the results of inspection;

(ii) the information and reports concerning Conventions and Recommendations, communicated by Members in accordance with article 19 of the Constitution;

(iii) the information and reports on measures taken by Members in accordance with article 35 of the Constitution.

9. The Committee, after an examination and evaluation of the above-mentioned reports and information, drew up its present report, consisting essentially of the following three parts: Part One is the General Report in which the Committee reviews general questions concerning international labour standards and related instruments and their implementation. Part Two contains observations concerning particular countries on the application of ratified Conventions (see section I and paragraphs 84 to 116 below), on the application of Conventions in non-metropolitan territories (see section II and paragraphs 84 to 116 below), and on the obligation to submit instruments to the competent authorities (see section III and paragraphs 117 to 129 below). Part Three, which is published in a separate volume (Report III (Part 4B)) reviews the reports supplied by governments under article 19 of the Constitution on the Termination of Employment Convention (No. 158) and Recommendation (No. 166), 1982 (see paragraphs 130 to 134 below).

10. In carrying out its task, which consists of indicating the extent to which the situation in each State appears to be in conformity with the Conventions and the obligations undertaken by that State by virtue of the ILO Constitution, the Committee has followed the principles of independence, objectivity and impartiality set forth in its previous reports. It has continued to apply the working methods recalled in its 1987 report. A spirit of mutual respect, cooperation and responsibility has consistently prevailed in the Committee's relations with the International Labour Conference and its Committee on the Application of Standards, whose proceedings the Committee takes fully into consideration, not only in respect of general matters concerning standard-setting activities and supervisory procedures, but also in respect of specific matters concerning the way in which States fulfil their standard-related obligations.

11. In this context, the Committee again noted the participation of the Chairperson of its 64th Session as an observer in the general discussion of the Committee on the Application of Standards of the 81st Session of the International Labour Conference (June 1994). It noted the decision of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards again to request the Director-General to invite the Chairperson of the 65th Session of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to attend as an observer the general discussion of the Committee on the Application of Standards of the 82nd Session of the International Labour Conference (June 1995). The Committee accepted the invitation.

II. General Membership of the Organization

12. Since the Committee's last session, South Africa has resumed membership of the ILO (on 26 May 1994); the number of member States of the ILO has risen from 170 to 171.

New standards adopted by the Conference in 1994 and the coming into force of Conventions

13. The Committee noted that at its 81st Session (June 1994), the International Labour Conference adopted the Part-Time Work Convention (No. 175) and Recommendation (No. 182), 1994.

14. The Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), has been ratified by Cyprus and came into force on 4 January 1995. The Protection of Workers' Claims (Employer's Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173), has been ratified by Mexico and Australia and will come into force on 8 June 1995.

Ratifications and denunciations

15. In 1994, 132 ratifications by 33 member States were registered. The total number of ratifications at 31 December 1994 was 6,182. Between the beginning of 1995 and 3 March 1995, 30 ratifications by nine member States have been registered.

16. The total number of denunciations not accompanied by the ratification of a revised Convention was 76 at 3 March 1995.

17. Since the Committee's last session, the Director-General has registered two denunciations not accompanied by the ratification of a revised Convention, on the part of the United Kingdom: the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention, 1951 (No. 99), and the Holidays with Pay (Agriculture) Convention, 1952 (No. 101). The Government states that by denouncing these instruments it wished to ensure that, whatever the outcome of the consultations on the future of the Agricultural Wages Board, it would be free to make any changes to the existing arrangements that were necessary, without being restricted by the requirements of the Convention. When the Government announced, on 20 December 1994, the retention of the Agricultural Wages Board arrangements, it indicated that there would be a further review of the matter in five years. The outcome of that review cannot be predicted. According to the Government, continued adherence to the Conventions would have severely limited the scope of the next review and would have restricted the scope for introducing more flexibility until the year 2004. The Government also states that one of the factors that influenced its decision to denounce these instruments was the call to do so from employers in the industry who, despite their support for the continuation of the Agricultural Wages Board, recognized that it was appropriate for the Government to have the necessary flexibility to reconsider these arrangements at some future date. Lastly, the Government states that since the possibility of denouncing a Convention only occurs once every ten years, it considered it necessary to take the opportunity while it was available. The Government concludes from this that the current denunciation procedure is too inflexible. It suggests that the question of denunciation procedures should be given high priority among the ILO's reforms in the standards area.

18. By a communication received on 22 August 1994, the Government of the United Kingdom also announced that it terminated the acceptance of obligations of the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agricultural) Convention, 1951 (No. 99), for Guernsey.

19. Since the Committee's last session, the Director-General has again registered three denunciations accompanied by the ratification of a revised Convention. The Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107), was denounced by Peru following ratification of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). The Convention concerning Statistics of Wages and Hours of Work, 1938 (No. 63), was denounced by Mauritius following ratification of the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160). The Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62), was denounced by Colombia following ratification of the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167).

Constitutional and other procedures

20. The Committee was informed of the following decisions taken by the Governing Body in cases involving recourse to the constitutional procedures of complaint and representation and other procedures.

A. Complaints submitted under article 26 of the ILO Constitution Complaint against Sweden

21. Consultations are being pursued concerning the complaint submitted by the Employers' delegate of Sweden to the 78th (1991) Session of the International Labour Conference alleging non-observance by Sweden of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147). The Governing Body will examine the matter at its 262nd Session.

Complaint against Côte d'Ivoire

22. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body approved the report of the Committee on Freedom of Association which had examined a complaint presented by the Workers' delegates to the 79th (1992) Session of the International Labour Conference alleging non-observance by Côte d'Ivoire of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the report of the direct contacts mission to the country in October 1994.

B. Representations submitted under article 24 of the ILO Constitution

Representation concerning the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

23. The Committee noted previously that the committee established to examine the representation submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleging non-observance by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), submitted its report to the 253rd (May-June 1992) Session of the Governing Body. The Governing Body noted that, while awaiting a decision by the United Nations, it was not possible to identify the Government concerned for the application of article 7 of the Standing Orders governing the procedure for the examination of representations submitted under articles 24 and 25 of the ILO Constitution. The Governing Body has still not set a date for the examination of the report.

Representation concerning Venezuela

24. With regard to the representation made by the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers and Associations of Commerce and Production (FEDECAMARAS) alleging non-observance by Venezuela of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, the Committee on Freedom of Association at its May 1993 Session adopted interim conclusions and asked the Government to take measures with a view to modifying certain provisions of the legislation.

Representation concerning Guatemala

25. At its 259th (March 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) and Public Services International (PSI) alleging non-observance by Guatemala of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), was receivable and set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Myanmar

26. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body adopted the conclusions and recommendations of the tripartite committee which it had set up by a decision taken at its 255th (March 1993) Session, to examine the representation made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleging non-observance by Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). In its conclusions it found that the exaction of labour and services under the Village Act and Towns Act was contrary to Convention No. 29. It urged the Government of Myanmar to take the necessary steps to ensure the application of the Convention on this point and to include full information on the measures taken in its reports under article 22 of the ILO Constitution on the application of Convention No. 29, so that the Committee of Experts can pursue its examination of the matter. The Governing Body declared the procedure closed.

Representations concerning Poland

27. The examination of the representation alleging non-observance by Poland of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), made by the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ) has been suspended at the request of the complainant organization. At the 261st Session of the Governing Body, the tripartite committee set up to examine the representation had before it a communication from the OPZZ dated 11 November 1994 stating that the above organization considered that there were now reasons for examining the representation. The tripartite committee decided to ask the Government to submit a statement on the matter, and will meet at the 262nd (March 1995) Session of the Governing Body.

28. At its 260th (June 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Independent and Autonomous Trade Union "Solidarnosc" alleging non-observance by Poland of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), was receivable and submitted it to the Committee on Freedom of Association for examination. In its 295th Report the Committee on Freedom of Association took note of the Government's communication indicating in particular that a new round of negotiations on the allocation of trade union assets which is the object of the complaint, will be held with representatives of the complainant organization and those of the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ). The Committee on Freedom of Association has asked to be kept informed of the results of the negotiations. It will examine the case at its 262nd (March 1995) Session.

Representation concerning Brazil

29. The tripartite committee set up to examine the representation made by the Latin American Centre of Workers (CLAT), alleging non-observance by Brazil of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), will meet during the 262nd (March 1995) Session of the Governing Body.

Representation concerning the Czech Republic

30. At its 260th (June 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Trade Union of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia (OS-CMS) alleging non-observance by the Czech Republic of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), was receivable and set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Turkey

31. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS) alleging non-observance by Turkey of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), was receivable and submitted it to the Committee on Freedom of Association for examination.

Representation concerning Congo

32. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Organization of Energy and Mines (IOEM), alleging non-observance by Congo of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), was receivable. The Governing Body set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Costa Rica

33. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT), alleging non-observance by Costa Rica of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), was receivable, and set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning France

34. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), alleging non-observance by France (French Polynesia) of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 82), was receivable and set up a tripartite committee to examine the case.

Representation concerning Nicaragua

35. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT), alleging non-observance by Nicaragua of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), the Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117), and the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), was receivable and set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Paraguay

36. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT), alleging non-observance by Paraguay of the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26), was receivable. The Governing Body set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Peru

37. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT), alleging non-observance by Peru of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), was receivable and set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Uruguay

38. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Inter-Union Assembly of Workers-National Convention of Workers (PIT-CNT) and its affiliate, the National Single Trade Union in Construction and Similar Activities (SUNCA), alleging non-observance by Uruguay of the Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62), the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150), the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), and the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161), was receivable. The Governing Body set up a tripartite committee to examine the representation.

Representation concerning Gabon

39. At its 261st (November 1994) Session, the Governing Body decided that the representation made by the Federation of Miners, Oil and Other Workers (FETRAMIP) and the International Organization of Energy and Mines (IOEM) alleging non-observance by Gabon of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), was irreceivable on the grounds that the alleged breaches were not committed within the bounds of Gabon's jurisdiction.

C. Special procedures concerning freedom of association

40. At each of its last meetings (March, June and November 1994), the Committee on Freedom of Association had before it an average of 110 cases concerning nearly 50 countries from all parts of the world, in which it presented interim or final conclusions, or cases of which the examination has been adjourned pending the arrival of information from governments (292nd to 296th Reports). Some of these cases have been before the Committee on two occasions. Moreover, since March 1994, 48 new cases have been submitted to the Committee. Direct contacts or advisory missions concerning cases pending before the Committee on Freedom of Association visited Côte d'Ivoire and New Zealand.

Functions in regard to other international and regional instruments

A. United Nations Covenants and Conventions concerning human rights

41. The Office regularly sends information, in accordance with existing arrangements with each one of them, to the various bodies responsible for the application of United Nations Conventions that fall within its competence. These bodies constitute the supervisory machinery established by the United Nations to examine the reports that governments are required to submit on each of the instruments that they have ratified. Since the Committee's last meeting, the following activities have been undertaken:

-- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: the Office took part in the Tenth (May 1994) and Eleventh (November-December 1994) Sessions of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and presented reports on four and three countries respectively;

-- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: reports were presented on five countries for the 50th (March-April 1994) Session of the Human Rights Committee and on six countries at the 52nd (October-November 1994) Session;

-- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: reports on 11 countries were submitted to the 14th (January-February 1995) Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, together with additional information on ILO activities in this area and a document on equal remuneration for work of equal value;

-- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: the Office took part in the 44th (March 1994) and 45th (August 1994) Sessions of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and presented reports on 14 countries for the 45th Session.

42. At its 50th (January-March 1994) Session, the Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution asking the bodies responsible for the application of treaties to take into consideration the conclusions of supervisory bodies, particularly those of the ILO. The Committee notes with interest the fact that the Human Rights Committee decided at its 52nd Session to allow the specialized agencies of the United Nations system to present for the first time their comments on States' reports to the pre-sessional working group of the above-mentioned Committee, and notes that the Office will take part in the March 1995 Session for this purpose.

43. In accordance with Article 45 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ILO was represented at the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Sessions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Geneva, April 1994, September-October 1994 and January 1995). At 27 January 1995, 168 States were parties to the Convention. The Committee on the Rights of the Child examined the reports from the following countries: Pakistan, Burkina Faso, France, Jordan, Chile, Norway (Sixth Session); Honduras, Indonesia, Madagascar, Paraguay, Spain (Seventh Session); Argentina, Philippines, Colombia, Poland, Jamaica, Denmark, United Kingdom (Eighth Session). In its recommendations to States Parties, the above Committee called on States which have not yet done so to examine the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Age Convention, 1972 (No. 138), and other relevant instruments of the ILO. Furthermore, it called on States which it had found to be experiencing difficulties in areas falling within the ILO's competence, to request assistance of the Office. This information was communicated to the competent departments at headquarters and in the regions.

44. The Office transmitted information and comments on the reports of countries reporting to the pre-sessional working group of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The latter Committee pursued its examination of the question of its relations with the specialized agencies at its Eighth (January 1995) Session. Proposals were made to maintain and strengthen coordination between the above Committee and those agencies, including the ILO. In this connection, it is important to recall that there are national bodies made up of representatives of the administrations concerned and of non-governmental organizations, which aim generally to promote the application of the Convention and propose measures to overcome difficulties in implementing it. In some countries, administrations whose remit covers labour, and employers' and workers' organizations have been invited to participate in the activities of these bodies. Their involvement can be of considerable significance in pointing the way for measures to abolish labour by children below a certain age and protect young people who work, so that they are in keeping with the provisions of international labour Conventions. It can also facilitate a review of policies concerning child labour, an assessment of their effects and, if need be, give them fresh stimulus.

B. European Code of Social Security and Protocol thereto

45. In accordance with the supervisory procedure established under Article 74(4) of the Code, and the arrangements between the ILO and the Council of Europe, the Committee of Experts examined 15 reports on the application of the European Code of Social Security and the Protocol thereto. It noted that the States Parties to the Code and the Protocol continue to apply them in full or nearly in full. The conclusions of the Committee regarding these reports will be sent to the Council of Europe.

46. In addition, a representative of the ILO took part, as technical adviser, in the meeting of the Steering Committee for Social Security of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg, November 1994). As in previous years the Steering Committee approved the conclusions of the Committee of Experts.

47. The Committee of Experts was informed that the European Code of Social Security was ratified by Spain on 16 March 1994.

C. European Social Charter and Additional Protocol

48. During 1994, in accordance with Article 26 of the European Social Charter, a representative of the ILO participated in an advisory capacity in several sessions of the Committee of Independent Experts set up to supervise the application of the Charter. Furthermore, a representative of the ILO participated in the meetings of the Committee for the European Social Charter. The aim of that Committee's work was to improve the supervisory procedures and contents of the Charter. The Committee has now finished its work and has prepared a draft Revised European Social Charter which will be submitted to the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its next session.

Collaboration with other international organizations

A. Cooperation in the field of standards with the United Nations and specialized agencies

49. In the context of the collaboration established with other international organizations on questions concerning the supervision of the application of international instruments relating to subjects of common interest, copies of the reports received under article 22 of the Constitution were forwarded to the United Nations and other specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations with which the ILO has entered into special arrangements for this purpose.

50. Thus, in accordance with established practice, copies of the reports received from governments on the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107), were forwarded for comment to the United Nations, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO); copies of these reports were also sent to the Inter-American Indian Institute of the Organization of American States. The WHO and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights also received a copy of one report on the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). Copies of reports on the Rural Workers' Organizations Convention, 1975 (No. 141), were communicated to the FAO and the United Nations. Copies of reports on the Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117), were communicated to the FAO, UNESCO and the United Nations. Copies of reports on the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), were forwarded to the WHO, UNESCO and the United Nations. Copies of the reports received on the Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149), were communicated to the WHO. Copies of reports on the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147), and on the Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115), were sent to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), respectively.

51. Representatives of these organizations were also invited to attend the sittings of the Committee of Experts at which the Conventions in question were discussed.

B. Relations between the ILO and the European Union

52. At the 259th (March 1994) Session of the Governing Body, the Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards examined a report prepared by the Office on the proposal for a decision of the Council of the European Union concerning the exercise of the Union's external competence at the International Labour Conference, when competence belongs both to the Union as a whole and to its member States. The Commission of the European Communities prepared this proposal following an advisory opinion given on 19 March 1993 by the Court of Justice of the European Communities, in which the Court found that competence to "conclude" the Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No. 170), belongs at the same time to the Community as a whole and to its member States. The proposal, which was rejected unanimously by the group on social questions of the Council of the European Union, recognized the ILO's institutional particularities and reviewed existing arrangements with regard to the framing of standards. It implied restricting the freedom of EU Member States to ratify international labour Conventions without the Union's endorsement, where "joint" competence applies. Many members of the Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards of the Governing Body feared that the proposal might hold down the number of ratifications of certain ILO Conventions by Member States of the European Union.

53. The Committee also noted an opinion on action to be taken regarding relations between the European Union and the International Labour Organization, adopted on 17 January 1995 by the Economic and Social Committee of the European Communities. The opinion stresses the need to safeguard the institutional particularities of the ILO and the independence of the social partners throughout the standard-setting process within the Organization and at national level, before and after the standards are adopted. It also mentions the concern that intervention by the European Union in the process of framing and implementing standards might have the effect of inhibiting the dynamism of the ILO's standard-setting activities to which the States of Europe have traditionally made a substantial contribution by their ratifications. The Committee hopes that future developments in this matter will make it possible for EU Member States which so wish to ratify certain ILO Conventions.

Matters relating to human rights

54. Further to the ILO's participation in the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in June 1993, the Office has continued, as part of its regular human rights promotion activities, to respond to the call in the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by that Conference, for universal ratification of international human rights treaties. The Governing Body decided at its Session of November 1994 to keep this matter on its agenda. A first progress report on the implementation of the Declaration, which contains a contribution from the ILO, has been submitted to the United Nations General Assembly.

55. In the context of strengthening its human rights technical advisory services, the Office has endeavoured to maintain a constructive synergy between the ILO's efforts in this area and the activities carried out by the United Nations through its Centre for Human Rights. The Office attended international seminars on human rights organized by the United Nations in Romania, and cooperated with the above Centre in preparing comments on the draft national legislation. It was also asked to coordinate the section on indigenous peoples of the Guatemala Peace Plan, signed in Oslo in 1994; this mission was carried out by the ILO Office in San José (Costa Rica).

56. A training session on the ILO and human rights organized for NGOs that attend the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities was held on 3 August 1994. It was attended by about 50 NGO representatives. One result of the session was that the NGOs reiterated their wish to contribute more to ILO activities in the area of human rights by being allowed to submit information directly at ILO meetings and to be involved directly in the various procedures for examining complaints.

57. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the decade 1994-2004 the "International Decade of the World's Indigenous People", and the Office intends to contribute by organizing its own events and lending its assistance to the activities of the United Nations Centre for Human Rights. The Office convened an inter-organizational meeting in November 1994 to which it invited intergovernmental organizations, development banks and national institutions to discuss coordinated action during the decade.

58. The Committee noted the documents that the Office has produced in preparation for the World Summit for Social Development to be held in March 1995 in Copenhagen (Denmark). The Committee hopes that participants in the Summit will take the ILO's contribution to social justice fully into account.

Questions concerning the application of Conventions

Application of Conventions respecting migrant workers

59. The Committee notes the recent developments concerning the movements of migrants for employment. It notes in particular the increase in the migratory flows within South-East Asia and the persistence of migration to the Middle East. It wishes to draw the attention of governments to the specific situation of a large group of migrants for employment, namely migrant domestic workers. The vulnerability of these workers, who are in their great majority women and young persons, arises principally out of the dual feature of their work, firstly that they are employed in domestic work, for which only a low level of protection is set out in labour legislation, and secondly that by working abroad they are outside the direct legal protection provided by their country of origin. Many migrant domestic workers work under precarious and difficult conditions, which may be characterized as follows:

-- atypical working time arrangements (hours of work, weekly rest periods and leave);

-- insufficient guarantees covering their wages (observance of minimum rates, the payment of wages);

-- the insufficiency or absence of social protection; and

-- the lack of information on the exercise, defence and preservation of the above rights (trade union activities, recourse to the courts).

The inherent difficulty of the situation of migrant workers is magnified by the absence of autonomy of domestic workers in respect of their employers. Furthermore, unlawful and clandestine work is widespread in this sector.

60. The international labour Conventions respecting migrant workers, particularly the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), establish minimum standards designed to provide, for all migrant workers who come within the meaning of these instruments, protection no less favourable than that which is applied to national workers in respect of living and working conditions and, in the case of Convention No. 143, equality of opportunity and treatment in these fields. The Committee requests governments to periodically examine the possibility of ratifying these Conventions, which provide both host countries and countries of origin with a number of means through which, in consultation with employers' and workers' organizations, they can control flows of migrants for employment maintaining the respect of human rights.

61. Furthermore, the Committee has examined the conditions under which massive expulsions have been carried out over recent years, which have also affected migrants for employment. It recalls that this issue is covered by certain provisions of ILO instruments, particularly the Migration for Employment Recommendation (Revised), 1949 (No. 86). This instrument recommends member States to refrain from removing migrants for employment who have been regularly admitted to their territory, or the members of their families, on account of their lack of means or the state of the employment market. Furthermore, where an agreement has been concluded between the emigration and immigration countries for the return of migrants for employment, any such agreement should provide that in principle no migrant shall be removed without his consent who has been in the immigration country for more than five years, that the migrant must have been given reasonable notice so as to give him time to dispose of his property and that the necessary arrangements shall have been made to ensure that he and the members of his family are treated in a humane manner. The Committee also recalls the commitment contained in Article 1 of Convention No. 143 to respect the basic human rights of all migrant workers, irrespective of their situation.

Application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)

62. At its present session, the Committee has only been able to examine a limited number of reports for the period 1992-94 on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122). It therefore proposes to defer until its next session in December the general comments on the effect given to the Convention that it usually makes as a contribution to the dialogue between the supervisory bodies and member States. In this respect, the Committee notes with particular interest the discussion at the Conference Committee in June 1994. The discussion dealt with aspects such as the relationship between higher productivity and employment, the employment consequences of restrictive macroeconomic policies and structural adjustment, and the role of labour market policy measures in the pursuance of the objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment; in so doing, the frank and well-argued discussion once again bore witness to the contribution of the relevant international standards to the public debate on employment problems. In the Committee's view, this is an encouraging sign of the increasing relevance of its dialogue with all the parties concerned on the policies that should be adopted to ensure the effective pursual of the essential objectives of the Convention.

63. As an extension to its General Survey on the 1982 instruments on termination of employment, the Committee would however like to draw attention to a trend towards greater precariousness in employment, which would appear to be becoming more widespread under various forms in different national situations. Adopted within the context of policies emphasizing the need to eliminate certain rigidities on the labour market which are held to be partly responsible for unemployment, employment promotion measures not infrequently have the effect of increasing the numbers of workers who are deprived of adequate protection against termination of employment as a result of their precarious status. The measures taken to stimulate recruitment are leading to an increasing number of exceptions to the principle set out in the labour law of most countries that fixed-term contracts have to be justified by the temporary nature of the work; in contrast with their objective of promoting recruitment, these measures are therefore liable to lead to the exclusion from secure employment of an increasingly large proportion of the active population. Moreover, questions need to be raised concerning the compatibility of the rapid rotation of workers, depending on the enterprise's prospects, with the need for the continuous training of workers so that they can adapt to constantly changing operational requirements. The investment required by both workers and enterprises in training presupposes the existence between them of a sufficiently long-term relationship. It is also indispensable to ensure that the various measures taken to promote the employment of young persons, with the dual objective of encouraging employers to offer them jobs by reducing the marginal cost of their recruitment and enabling young persons to supplement insufficient or inadequate initial training through their first experience of work, are not diverted from their objective. As emphasized by the Committee in individual comments, it is the responsibility of the public authorities to ensure that, in exchange for a lower level of remuneration and more precarious conditions of employment than those set out in the law, the young workers concerned benefit from really effective supplementary training which facilitates their long-term employment prospects.

64. In more general terms, with regard to the important issue of the relationship between labour market flexibility and the promotion of employment, as well as the lively debate to which it gives rise on labour law and the respective responsibilities of the public authorities and the social partners, the Committee welcomes the ILO report World Employment, 1995, which emphasizes that the deregulation of the labour market has not had the expected effect on the volume of employment and threatens social cohesion in a manner that is not conducive to economic growth. The position adopted by the Committee, both in its comments on the application of Convention No. 122 and in its General Survey on termination of employment, is therefore supported by economic analysis. This position is shared by the Director-General who, in his report to the Conference in 1994, affirmed that the ILO would never dissociate workers' rights from the right to work. The Committee also notes that the report on world employment reaffirms the essential nature of the objective of full employment. These concerns, which are at the heart of the ILO's mandate, should be fully taken into account by the World Summit on Social Development in March 1995, particularly in the Declaration by the Heads of State and Government, which includes the commitment to promote as a basic priority the objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment, in accordance with ILO standards.

Application of the Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140)

65. Over the past few years there has been a revival of interest in the 1974 instruments on paid educational leave. This interest was illustrated by the selection of these instruments by the Governing Body for the reporting requirements under article 19 of the ILO Constitution in 1990, which drew attention to the role that this type of further training arrangement could play in human resources development policies. The General Survey on these reports provided an occasion for reviewing national practices in respect of educational leave and clarifying the requirements of the Convention. The revival of interest has been further confirmed by the ratification of Convention No. 140 over the past three years by countries such as Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil and Finland, particularly since there had been no new ratifications of the Convention since 1983. The Committee will examine the first reports of some of these countries at its next session in December.

66. In individual comments, the Committee had to recall the fundamental obligations deriving from the Convention, as well as the high degree of flexibility that it authorizes. This Convention, which guarantees the rights of workers undergoing training to the maintenance of their contract of employment, adequate financial entitlements and the assimilation of the period of paid educational leave to a period of effective service, also provides for the progressive extension by stages as necessary of paid educational leave to broader educational purposes than just vocational training. The emphasis placed on the continued training of workers in the context of employment policies and in the debate on new forms of work-sharing should contribute to the renewed focus of attention on this Convention.

67. Reference should be made to a particular problem raised by the application of this Convention in the context of the transition to a market economy. Most of the Central and Eastern European States that are now undergoing transition ratified the Convention soon after its adoption and gave it effect by means of measures which were seemingly very generous and appeared to enable almost any worker to undertake or continue studies of any type or level while maintaining entitlement to remuneration and social benefits. The new distribution of responsibility between the public authorities and private initiative, the realities of the market economy and the overriding need for enterprises to be competitive have resulted in criticism of these measures. The supervisory bodies should check that preference is given to the adaptation to the new market economy situation of the arrangements for the granting of paid educational leave provided for in Article 5 of the Convention, rather than their abolition on the grounds that they have become impossible to apply.

III. Technical assistance in the field of standards

A. Direct contacts and cooperation in the field of standards

68. A large number of activities have been undertaken to promote the more widespread understanding, acceptance, ratification and observance of standards.

69. During the year, several regional and subregional seminars and symposia were held on international labour standards: these included a symposium on standards in the Asian and Pacific region (March-April 1994, Thailand), subregional seminars on international labour standards, trade union rights and employment policy (April 1994, Côte d'Ivoire; May 1994, Argentina; August 1994, Thailand; September 1994, Benin; and October 1994, Russian Federation); tripartite seminars on national and international labour standards for English-speaking East, West and North Africa (May 1994, United Republic of Tanzania) and southern African countries (May 1994, Namibia); as well as a tripartite symposium on the problems of women workers in the Arab countries (October 1994, Jordan).

70. Programmes continued to be organized to familiarize national labour administration officials with the obligations of member States and ILO procedures relating to Conventions and Recommendations. A course on international labour standards for government officials from Africa, Asia, the Arab States, Europe and Latin America was organized in collaboration with the ILO's International Training Centre (May-June 1994, Turin) and was attended by participants from the following countries: Bangladesh, Belize, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Poland, Russian Federation, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay and Viet Nam.

71. Activities for cooperation and the promotion of standards also took the form of participation in seminars, workshops and meetings, and the provision of advisory services on international labour standards in or for the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Zimbabwe.

72. Since the last session of the Committee of Experts, comments and consultations on drafts of labour laws and related legislation in the light of ILO standards have been provided to the following countries: Albania, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Grenada, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Mauritius, South Africa and United Kingdom.

B. Standards and multidisciplinary teams

73. Since the last session of the Committee, arrangements for the provision of assistance on standards to member States have developed in the sense that multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), including specialists on international labour standards, have now been established. In March 1995, specialists on standards were in place in the MDTs in Abidjan (Central and West Africa), Bangkok (East Asia), Dakar (North-West Africa), Harare (Southern Africa), Lima (Andean countries), New Delhi (South Asia), Port of Spain (Caribbean) and San José (Central America). Specialists are on the point of being appointed in Beirut (Arab countries) and Santiago (Southern America).

74. The role of the specialists on standards is to provide assistance to the countries covered by their MDTs on all matters that were previously dealt with by the regional advisers on standards, particularly with a view to the fulfilment of the obligations deriving from standards under the Constitution of the ILO. Furthermore, these specialists cooperate closely with the other technical specialists in each team with the objective that standards considerations are taken into account in so far as possible in the technical cooperation activities undertaken by the ILO in each country. The central component of this system is the evaluation of country objectives, which consists of identifying for each country priorities for the concerted action to be undertaken during the months and years to come. One of the means of achieving this in practice is by referring to the relevant international labour standards. Thus, when a State ratifies Conventions, it is establishing priorities and the Office can assist the efforts for resolving any particular difficulties encountered in their implementation, particularly when the Committee has raised such matters in its observations and direct requests.

75. The specialists on standards in each MDT have therefore undertaken, in the context of their normal work, informal advisory missions in many countries. Where specialists on standards have not yet been appointed, whenever possible missions are carried out to the country by specialists on standards from other MDTs or by officials of the International Labour Standards Department in Geneva. The Department also plans to continue its assistance, training and advisory activities in support of the MDTs in the coming months with a view to strengthening their knowledge of international labour standards and the related procedures and continuing the process of the integration of standards into the overall activities of the ILO.

IV. Role of employers' and workers' organizations

76. At each session, the Committee draws the attention of governments to the role that employers' and workers' organizations are called upon to play in the application of Conventions and Recommendations and to the fact that numerous Conventions require consultation with employers' and workers' organizations, or their collaboration in a variety of measures. The Committee notes with satisfaction that all governments have indicated in the reports supplied under articles 19 and 22 of the Constitution the representative organizations of employers and workers to which, in accordance with article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, they have communicated copies of the reports supplied to the ILO. All governments have indicated the organizations to which they have communicated copies of the information supplied to the ILO on the submission to the competent authorities of the instruments adopted by the Conference and the reports due under article 19 of the Constitution.

77. In accordance with established practice, the ILO sent to the representative organizations of employers and workers a letter concerning the various opportunities open to them of contributing to the implementation of Conventions and Recommendations, accompanied by relevant documentary material, and a list of the reports due from their respective governments and copies of the Committee's comments to which the governments were invited to reply in their reports.

Observations made by employers' and workers' organizations

78. Since its last session, the Committee has received 305 observations, 60 of which were communicated by employers' organizations and 245 by workers' organizations. This is the highest number of observations ever received. It shows again the interest of employers' and workers' organizations in the implementation of ILO standards and reflects the constant efforts made by the supervisory bodies and the Office to give interested organizations complete information on their role in this area.

79. The majority of observations received (278) relate to the application of ratified Conventions (Endnote 1). Twenty-seven observations relate to the reports provided by governments under article 19 of the Constitution relating to the Termination of Employment Convention (No. 158) and Recommendation (No. 166), 1982. (Endnote 2)

80. The Committee notes that, of the observations received this year, 148 were transmitted directly to the International Labour Office which, in accordance with the practice established by the Committee, referred them to the governments concerned for comment. In 157 cases the governments transmitted the observations with their reports, sometimes adding their own comments.

81. The Committee also examined a number of other observations by employers' and workers' organizations, consideration of which had been postponed from the last session because the observations of the organizations or the replies of the governments had arrived just before or just after the session. It has had to postpone the examination of a number of observations to its next session, when they were received too close to or even during the Committee's present session to allow sufficient time for the governments concerned to make comments and for the Committee to consider the matters involved.

82. The Committee notes that in most cases the organizations of employers and workers endeavoured to gather and present precise facts on the application in practice of ratified Conventions. It notes that the matters dealt with in these observations have touched on a very wide range of Conventions relating, in particular, to the following subjects: protection of the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining, discrimination, forced labour, minimum wage fixing, employment policy, labour inspection, wage payment, tripartite consultations relating to international labour standards, maritime labour. The second part of this report contains most of the comments made by the Committee on cases in which the comments raised matters relating to the application of ratified Conventions. Where appropriate, other comments are examined in requests addressed directly to the governments.

83. The Committee notes lastly that the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), has now received 72 ratifications. Thus, the number of ratifications has more than doubled since the General Survey on the Convention in 1982, (Endnote 3) which noted favourable prospects in this respect. The Committee hopes that many other countries will be able to ratify it, all the more since some have recently adopted provisions to establish tripartite bodies for ILO activities, with reference to the 1976 instruments.

V. Reports on ratified Conventions (articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution)

Supply of reports

84. The Committee's principal task consists of the examination of the reports supplied by governments on Conventions which have been ratified by member States or which have been declared applicable to non-metropolitan territories.

85. In accordance with the procedure for reporting that has been in force since 1977, detailed reports from all ratifying States, covering the period ending 30 June 1994, were due to be examined this year in respect of 43 Conventions. (Endnote 4) In addition, detailed reports were also requested from certain governments on other Conventions, in accordance with the criteria for more frequent reporting approved by the Governing Body and set out in paragraph 38 of the Committee's 1977 report.

86. The new arrangements for reporting on ratified Conventions will be put into effect during the course of 1995. (Endnote 5)

Reports requested and received

87. A total of 2,290 detailed reports were requested from governments on the application of Conventions ratified by member States (article 22 of the Constitution). At the end of the present session of the Committee, 1,573 of these reports had been received by the Office. This figure corresponds to 68 per cent of the reports requested, compared with 68.7 per cent last year. The Committee regrets that, as indicated in paragraph 101 below, a number of reports received are incomplete and do not enable it to reach conclusions regarding the application of the Conventions concerned. A table showing reports received and not received, classified by country and by Convention, is to be found in Part II (section I, Appendix I). Another table (section I, Appendix II) shows, for each year in which the Committee has met since 1933, the number and percentage of reports received by the prescribed date, by the date of the meeting of the Committee, and by the date of the session of the International Labour Conference.

88. In addition, 476 reports were requested on Conventions declared applicable with or without modifications to non-metropolitan territories (articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution). Of these, 352 reports, 73.9 per cent, had been received by the end of the Committee's session, in comparison with 62.7 per cent in 1994. A list of the reports received and not received, classified by territory and by Convention, is to be found appended to section II of Part Two of this report.

89. Furthermore, 16 governments also supplied general reports on Conventions for which detailed reports were not due for the period under review: Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Suriname, Switzerland, Turkey.

90. In those cases in which the reports were not accompanied by copies of the relevant legislation, statistical data or other documentation necessary for their full examination, and where this material was not otherwise available, the Office, as requested by the Committee, wrote to the governments concerned asking them to supply the necessary texts to enable the Committee to fulfil its task.

Compliance with reporting obligations

91. Most of the governments from which reports were due on the application of ratified Conventions have supplied all or most of the reports requested, as can be seen from Appendix I, Part II, section I. However, 43 governments have not complied with their obligation to supply reports on ratified Conventions. Thus, all or the majority of the reports due this year have not been received from the following countries: Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Yemen. No reports have been received for the past two or more years from the following countries: Albania, Burundi, Chad, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Mozambique, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Zaire.

92. The Committee urges the governments of these countries, and also of those which have sent only some of the reports due, to make every effort to supply the reports requested on ratified Conventions. Where no reports have been sent for a number of years, it is likely that particular problems of an administrative or technical nature are preventing the government concerned from fulfilling its obligations under the ILO Constitution, and it may be that in cases of this kind assistance from the Office, in particular with the help of members of multidisciplinary advisory teams who are specialists on international labour standards, could enable the government to overcome its difficulties.

Late reports

93. The Committee is once again bound to emphasize the importance of communicating reports in due time. Once again this year, reports were requested on ratified Conventions by 15 October 1994 at the latest. Due consideration is given, when fixing this date, to the time required to translate the reports, where necessary, to conduct research into legislation and other necessary documents, and to examine reports and legislation, etc. The supervisory procedure can function correctly only if reports are communicated in due time. This is particularly true in the case of first reports or reports on Conventions where there are serious or continuing discrepancies, which the Committee has to examine in greater depth.

94. The Committee observes that the great majority of reports are thus received between the time-limit fixed and the date on which the Committee meets: by 15 October 1994, the proportion of reports received was only 16.4 per cent. The Committee is very concerned at this percentage, which is very low, and notes that it is often first reports and those relating to Conventions on which the Committee has made comments that are received the latest. In these circumstances, the Committee has been bound in recent years to postpone to its following session the examination of an increasing number of reports, since they could not be examined with the necessary care owing to lack of time. It has thus had to examine a number of reports at its present session held over from 1994.

95. The Committee must point out yet again that it is extremely concerned at this state of affairs. It trusts that, in the context of the rescheduling of the regular supervisory procedures which comes into force in 1995, governments will in future endeavour to observe the time-limits laid down for the sending of their reports so that it can carry out its supervisory function adequately.

96. Furthermore, the Committee once again notes that for several years a number of countries have been sending the reports due on ratified Conventions during the period between the end of the Committee's work and the beginning of the International Labour Conference, or even during the Conference. (Endnote 6) The Committee emphasizes that this practice disturbs the regular operation of the supervisory system and makes it more burdensome.

Supply of first reports

97. A total of 42 of the 78 first reports due on the application of ratified Conventions were received by the time that the Committee's session ended. However, a number of countries have failed to supply first reports, some of which are more than a year overdue. Thus, certain first reports on ratified Conventions have not been received from the following States: since 1992 from Guinea (Convention No. 133), Liberia (Convention No. 133), Nigeria (Convention No. 133); since 1993: Luxembourg (Conventions Nos. 53, 68, 69, 73, 74, 92, 108, 147 and 166) and Yemen (Convention No. 159).

98. The Committee recalls that particular importance attaches to first reports on the basis of which it makes its initial assessment of the observance of ratified Conventions. It therefore requests the governments concerned to make a special effort to supply these reports.

Replies to the comments of the supervisory bodies

99. Governments are requested to reply in their reports to the observations and direct requests of the Committee, and the majority of governments have provided the replies requested. In accordance with the established practice, the International Labour Office wrote to all the governments who failed to provide such replies, requesting them to supply the necessary information. Of the 40 governments to which such letters were sent, only five have provided the information requested.

100. The Committee notes with concern that there are still many cases of failure to reply to its comments; either:

(a) out of all the reports requested from governments, no report or reply has been received; or

(b) the reports received contained no reply to most of the Committee's comments (observations and/or direct requests) and/or did not reply to the letters sent by the Office.

101. In all there were 337 such cases, (Endnote 7) as compared to 354 last year and 318 the previous year. The Committee is concerned by the number of these cases, which is still very high. It is bound to repeat the observations or direct requests already made on the Conventions in question.

102. The failure of the governments concerned to fulfil their obligations considerably hinders the work of the Committee of Experts and that of the Conference Committee, and the Committee of Experts cannot overemphasize the special importance of ensuring the dispatch of the reports and replies to its comments on time. The Committee hopes that the introduction of the new procedures for the requesting of reports, and the assistance of the multidisciplinary teams, will result in a substantial improvement in this situation in the near future.

Examination of reports

103. In examining the reports received on ratified Conventions and Conventions declared applicable to non-metropolitan territories, the Committee has followed its usual practice of assigning to each of its members the initial responsibility for a group of Conventions. Reports received early enough are sent to the members concerned in advance of the Committee's session. The members submit their preliminary conclusions on the instruments for which they are responsible to all their colleagues for their examination. These conclusions are then presented to the Committee in plenary sitting by their respective authors for discussion and approval. Decisions on comments are adopted by consensus, without prejudice to experts who wish to put forward different opinions, as was the case in the past.

Observations and direct requests

104. In the majority of cases, the Committee has found that no comment is called for regarding the way in which a ratified Convention has been implemented. In other cases, however, the Committee has found it necessary to draw the attention of the governments concerned to the need to take further action to give effect to certain provisions of Conventions or to supply additional information on given points. As in previous years, its comments have been drawn up in the form either of "observations" which are reproduced in the Report of the Committee, or "direct requests", which are not published in the report, but are communicated directly to the governments concerned.

105. As previously, the Committee has indicated by footnotes the cases in which, because of the nature of the problems met in the application of the Conventions concerned, it has seemed appropriate to ask the Government to supply a detailed report earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Under the system of spacing out reports, which applies to most Conventions, such early reports have been requested after an interval of either one or two years, according to circumstances. In some instances, the Committee has also requested the Government to supply full particulars to the Conference at its next session in June 1995.

106. The observations of the Committee appear in Part Two (sections I and II) of this report, together with a list under each Convention of any direct requests. An index of all observations and direct requests, classified by country, is provided at the beginning of this report.

Cases of progress

107. In accordance with its usual practice, the Committee has drawn up a list of the cases in which it has been able to express its satisfaction at certain measures taken by governments to make the necessary changes in their country's law or practice following comments by the Committee on the degree of conformity between national law or practice and the provisions of a ratified Convention. Details concerning the cases in question are to be found in Part II of this report and cover 36 instances in which measures of this kind have been taken in 22 States and three non-metropolitan territories. The full list is as follows:

Cases of progress Conventions Nos.

Algeria 127

Non-metropolitan territories

Netherlands

108. Thus, the total number of cases in which the Committee has been led to express its satisfaction with the progress achieved following its comments has risen to 2,070 since the Committee began listing them in its reports in 1964. In addition, there have been many cases in which the Committee has been able to note with interest various measures that have been taken following its comments with a view to ensuring a fuller application of ratified Conventions. All these cases provide an indication of the efforts made by governments to ensure that their national law and practice are in conformity with the provisions of the ILO Conventions they have ratified.

109. These cases do not, however, as the Committee regularly points out, exhaust the instances in which Conventions and Recommendations have a measurable influence on the law and practice of member States. For example, the Committee has again noted a number of cases this year in which it is clear from the first report on the application of a Convention that new legislative or other measures were adopted shortly before or after ratification.

Practical application

110. As in previous years, the Committee has been concerned with assessing, on the basis of the information available, the extent to which national legislation giving effect to ratified Conventions is applied in practice. A number of questions designed to elicit information on this point are included in the report forms approved by the Governing Body for the Conventions, and the replies of governments to these questions constitute an appreciable, though uneven, source of information on practical application available to the Committee. The Committee has also taken into account other authoritative sources of information. These consist of the annual reports of labour inspection services, statistical yearbooks published in the States or by the ILO, observations of employers' or workers' organizations, compilations of judicial or administrative decisions, reports on direct contacts, reports on technical cooperation projects and missions, and other official publications such as manuals, studies and economic and social development plans.

111. The Committee notes with interest that this year some 62.5 per cent of the reports supplied on Conventions for which information on practical application was specifically requested contained such data. Although lower than in 1994, this percentage is higher than in 1992 and 1993. The Committee nonetheless reiterates its appeal to governments to make every effort to include the information requested in their reports.

112. The following countries have provided information on practical application in more than half the reports concerned: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Portugal, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen and Zambia.

113. The Committee wishes particularly to thank governments that have given information on practical application in their reports, as this information has greatly helped it in assessing more accurately the extent to which ratified Conventions are actually applied in these countries.

114. As in previous years, the Committee has addressed direct requests to certain countries which have not replied to the questions in the report forms on practical application. The Committee notes that, again this year, the majority of the countries in question are developing countries and that certain of them have referred specifically to difficulties of a financial and/or administrative nature which are preventing them from compiling the statistical and other information requested. The Committee is of the opinion that these are also cases in which technical assistance from the International Labour Office, particularly when provided by the MDTs, could assist in overcoming the difficulties in question.

115. The Committee also notes with interest the judicial and administrative decisions on questions of principle relating to the application of ratified Conventions to which certain countries have referred in their reports. It noted that 53 reports contain information of this kind and thereby shed additional light on the problems raised in these cases by the practical application of the Conventions in question.

116. For many years, the Committee has been noting that provisions concerning sanctions to secure observance of the measures in pursuance of Conventions to ensure their application are often inadequate because the sanctions laid down do not have a sufficiently dissuasive effect, particularly where violations of basic human rights are concerned, which should, in appropriate cases, be followed by measures of compensation. It once again draws attention to the importance of establishing effective sanctions and of adapting monetary penalties, particularly in countries with high rates of inflation, in such a way that they exert an effective preventive influence against acts contrary to the guarantees laid down by international labour Conventions. In this respect, the Committee notes with interest the new Penal Code in France, which came into force on 1 March 1994, which reinforces penalties for acts prejudicial to health and safety in the field of occupational injuries. Sanctions for involuntary harm to life and personal safety can be aggravated in the event of a deliberate failure to comply with an obligation relating to safety or prudence imposed by the law or regulations and can result in liability to imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of FF500,000 (about $90,000). The Committee again requests governments to indicate in their reports the measures taken to examine the need to adapt monetary penalties from time to time in the light of inflation or to determine the amount of such penalties in such a way as to take account of currency fluctuations.

VI. Submission of Conventions and Recommendations to the competent authorities (article 19, paragraphs 5, 6 and 7, of the Constitution)

117. In accordance with its terms of reference, the Committee this year examined the following information (Endnote 8) supplied by the governments of member States, pursuant to article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization:

(a) information on the steps taken to submit to the competent authorities within the time-limit of 12 or 18 months, as provided for in the Constitution, the following instruments adopted at the 80th Session of the Conference (1993): the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention (No. 174) and Recommendation (No. 181), 1993;

(b) additional information on the steps taken to submit to the competent authorities the instruments adopted by the Conference from its 31st (1948) to its 79th (1992) Sessions (Conventions Nos. 87 to 173 and Recommendations Nos. 83 to 180);

(c) replies to the observations and direct requests made by the Committee in 1994.

80th Session

118. The Committee notes with interest that the governments of the following member States have indicated that they have submitted to the authorities considered by them to be competent the instruments adopted by the Conference at its 80th Session: Australia, Barbados, Belarus, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Grenada, Iceland, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Viet Nam.

31st to 79th Sessions

119. The Committee notes with interest that considerable efforts have been made by several governments to submit instruments adopted by the Conference since its 31st Session to the competent authorities, particularly in the following cases: Belize (69th to 76th Sessions), Benin (75th, 76th and 77th Sessions), Israel (78th and 79th Sessions) and Swaziland (74th, 75th and 76th Sessions (Convention No. 170 and Recommendation No. 177)).

120. The table in Appendix I to section III of Part Two of the report of the Committee shows the position of each member State as it emerges from the information supplied by the governments, with regard to the discharge of the obligation to submit Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference to the competent authorities. Appendix II shows the overall position in this respect for the instruments adopted from the 31st to the 80th Sessions of the Conference.

General aspects

121. The Committee notes with concern that many countries are late sometimes very late in submitting to the competent authorities the instruments adopted by the Conference. In other cases, submission does not appear to have been accompanied by proposals on the action to be taken concerning the instruments being considered.

122. The Committee wishes to emphasize that the submission to the competent authorities of the instruments adopted by the Conference is a fundamental obligation which constitutes the indispensable first step in implementing international labour standards. In order that national authorities may be kept up to date on the standards adopted at the international level, which may require action in each State so as to give effect to them at the national level, submission should be made as early as possible and in any case within the time-limits set by article 19 of the ILO Constitution. Governments, however, remain entirely free to propose any action which they may judge appropriate in respect of Conventions and Recommendations. The principal aim of the submission is to encourage a rapid and responsible decision by each member State on the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference.

Comments of the Committee and replies from governments

123. In section III of Part Two of this report, the Committee makes individual observations on the points that it considers should be brought to the special attention of governments. In two of these observations, the Committee has expressed its satisfaction at the measures taken (in Lebanon and Peru) for the submission of instruments to the competent authorities. In addition, requests with a view to obtaining supplementary information on other points have also been addressed directly to a number of countries, which are listed at the end of section III.

124. The Committee once again regrets to note that a number of governments have again failed to provide replies to its comments, even after reminders have been sent by the Office in accordance with the request made to it by the Committee (see Part Two, section III of this report). The Committee again expresses the hope that governments will endeavour in future to supply all the required information and documents.

125. The Committee wishes once more to point out the importance of the communication by governments of the information and documents called for in points I and II of the questionnaire in the Memorandum adopted by the Governing Body. Some governments do not communicate the information and documents in question. The Committee trusts that the governments concerned will take suitable measures to comply with the Memorandum on submission to the competent authorities.

Special problems

126. The Committee is bound to note with regret that no information has been supplied by the following 25 governments showing that the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference during at least the last seven sessions (from the 72nd to the 79th Sessions) (Endnote 9) have in fact been submitted to the competent authorities: Algeria, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Congo, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guinea, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, United Republic of Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Zaire. The fact that so many countries have accumulated a long backlog in this context is a cause of deep concern to the Committee. Indeed, there is a danger that certain countries may find it difficult, if not impossible, to bring themselves up to date. What is more, neither the legislative authorities nor public opinion in these countries are regularly informed of the existence of new instruments as the Conference adopts them, which defeats the real purpose of the obligation to submit explained in paragraph 122 above.

127. In this context, the Committee would like to point out once again that the obligation of submission does not imply that governments must ratify the Conventions or accept the Recommendations in question. The Committee therefore expresses the firm hope that the governments concerned will promptly undertake to submit the instruments adopted at the sessions indicated and that it will be able to note the progress made in this respect in its next report. The Committee finally recalls that governments have the possibility of asking the International Labour Office for the technical assistance which it is able to provide, particularly through the multidisciplinary teams, to endeavour to solve this type of problem.

Submission of certain instruments to the appropriate authorities of the European Union

128. Over the past year, three Member States of the European Union (Belgium, France and Luxembourg) stated that they had submitted the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention (No. 174) and Recommendation (No. 181), 1993, to the appropriate authorities of the European Union. Germany, which is also a Member State of the European Union, stated that it had submitted the Occupational Health Services Convention (No. 161) and Recommendation (No. 171), 1985, and the Health Protection and Medical Care (Seafarers) Convention, 1987 (No. 164), to the competent authorities of the European Union. In their reports, the above governments stated that the consultations provided for in article 23, paragraph 2, of the ILO Constitution and by the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), will be pursued at the national level.

129. The Committee trusts that member States, when they participate in the work of the bodies of the European Union responsible for deciding on the ratification of a Convention, will continue to work for the attainment of the objectives of the ILO by endeavouring in good faith to envisage the ratification of international labour Conventions whenever conditions make this possible.

VII. Instruments chosen for reports under article 19 of the Constitution

130. In accordance with the decisions taken by the Governing Body, governments were requested to supply reports under article 19, paragraphs 5 and 7, of the ILO Constitution on the Termination of Employment Convention (No. 158) and Recommendation (No. 166), 1982.

131. A total of 315 reports were requested and 202 received. (Endnote 10) This represents 64.1 per cent of the reports requested.

132. The Committee notes with regret that, for the past five years, none of the reports on unratified Conventions and Recommendations requested under article 19 of the ILO Constitution has been received from: Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, El Salvador, Haiti, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Venezuela and Yemen.

133. The Committee can only urge governments once again to provide the reports requested so that its General Surveys can be as comprehensive as possible.

General Survey

134. Part Three of this report (issued separately as Report III (Part 4B)) contains the General Survey of the Committee on questions covered by Convention No. 158 and Recommendation No. 166. The survey, in accordance with the practice followed in previous years, has been prepared on the basis of a preliminary examination by a working party comprising five persons appointed by the Committee from among its members.

135. Lastly, the Committee would like to express its appreciation for the invaluable assistance again rendered to it by the officials of the ILO, whose competence and devotion to duty make it possible for the Committee to accomplish its increasingly complex task in a limited period of time.

Geneva, 3 March 1995. (Signed) Sir William Douglas,

E. Razafindralambo, Reporter.

Endnotes

Endnote 2

Endnote 3

Endnote 4

Endnote 5

Endnote 6

Endnote 7

Endnote 8

Endnote 9

Endnote 10