A. Introduction

1. In accordance with article 7 of its Standing Orders, the Conference set up a Committee to consider and report on item III of its agenda: "Information and reports on the application of Conventions and Recommendations". The Committee was composed of 207 members (108 Government members, 33 Employers' members and 66 Workers' members). It also included 16 Government deputy members, 30 Employers' deputy members and 79 Workers' deputy members. (Endnote 1) In addition, 31 non-governmental international organisations were represented by observers.(Endnote 2)

2. The Committee elected its Officers as follows:

Chairman: Mr. J.-J. Elmiger (Government member, Switzerland);

3. The Committee held 23 sittings.

4. Pursuant to its terms of reference, the Committee considered the following questions: information on the submission to the competent authorities of Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the Conference, supplied under article 19 of the Constitution; reports on the application of ratified Conventions, supplied under articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution; and reports requested by the Governing Body under article 19 of the Constitution on the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), the Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention (No. 128) and Recommendation (No. 131), 1967, in so far as they applied to old-age benefits. (Endnote 3) The Committee, by a decision of the Conference, was also called to examine the report of the fifth session (October 1988) of the Joint ILO-UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.

5. As usual, the Committee began its work with a discussion of general questions relating to the application of Conventions and Recommendations and the discharge by member States of their obligations under the ILO Constitution in regard to such instruments. The Committee then discussed the general survey made by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and devoted to social security protection in old-age and the above-mentioned report of the Joint ILO-UNESCO Committee of Experts. Finally, it considered a number of individual cases concerning the application of ratified Conventions or compliance with the obligations to supply reports and to submit Conventions and Recommendations to the competent national authorities. The examination of these cases - which was the essential work of the Committee - was based mainly on the observations contained in the report of the Committee of Experts and on the written and oral explanations provided by the governments concerned. The Committee also relied on its discussions in previous years, on comments received from employers' and workers' organisations or, where appropriate, on the report of other ILO supervisory bodies. In view of the short time available, the Committee followed its usual practice of making a selection among all of the Committee of Experts' observations and limited itself to discussing a limited number of cases, which did not reduce the importance of the other cases mentioned in the report of the Committee of Experts and concerning which government should take the necessary measures in accordance with the observations made in the report. A summary of the information, supplied by governments, of the discusions in the Committee and of any conclusions reached by it, is set out in Part Two of this report.

Obligations binding member States

6. Each year the report of the Committee of Experts made an evaluation of the obligations binding member States.

7. On the positive side there was the number of ratifications. as was indicated in paragraph 14 of the general report of the Committee of Experts, the total number of ratifications stood at 5,401 as at 31 December 1988, thanks to the registration of 90 new ratifications coming from 27 member States during 1988. This notable improvement in the number of ratifications after a somewhat downwards trend which had been noted in previous years and which had worried the members of the Committee was noted with satisfaction by the Employers' and Workers' members and by several Government members (Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Greece, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal). The Employers' members, however, recalled that ratification was only one step in the commitment of countries, a step which had to be followed by implementation in law and in practive, as well as the supply of reports.

8. The progress achieved in ratifications was highlighted by some members of the Committee. The Government member of Norway, speaking on behalf of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) observed, on the one hand, that a large number of Conventions had still not been ratified by member States and, on the other hand, that ratifications seemed to come mainly from developed countries over the past years. The Government member of Tunisia considered that particular attention should be devoted to the Conventions concerning human rights and recalled the scant ratification of them; he suggested that the Committee of Experts should devote a section in the general part of its report to these Conventions as was done for Convention No. 122. Indeed, the Workers' member of Chile cited the example of his country which had not ratified any Convention for 19 years. The spokesman for the Workers' members expressed the concerns of the Workers' members at the low number of ratifications of the Conventions on social security and old-age benefits (see, in this respect, the summary of discussions on the general survey of the Committee of Experts below). The still unsatisfactory number of ratifications (45) of the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) was raised again, particularly by the Workers member of Pakistan.

9. Some factors favourable to ratification or, on the contrary, difficulties which created obstacles, were mentioned. The Government member of Burgaria considered that the dialogue carried out by the Committee encouraged the creation of favourable conditions for ratification of Conventions. The Government member of Saudi Arabia considered that the assistance of the Office would be highly appreciated during the preparatory stages when ratification was being looked at. The Government member of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that this Committee should encourage and help member States in the ratification process while at the same time respecting the sovereignty of each State and the ideological or religious principles on which they were founded. Referring to the example of his country, the Government member of Somalia indicated that the Council of Ministers was considering the ratification of 12 Conventions following prior consultations with the national employers' and workers' organisations and with the assistance of a mission by the Regional Adviser for Standards. On the other hand, the Employers' member of the United States considered that the variations he saw in the jurisprudence of the Committee of Experts (which is treated elsewhere in this report) were liable to create difficulties for countries which were trying to bring their legislation into conformity with the Conventions whose ratification was under study, as well as for countries which had ratified them.

10. Several other speakers informed the Committee of ratifications or ratification prospects involving new Conventions for their respective countries. Belgium, having ratified three Conventions in 1988, was studying the possibility of ratifying the Labour administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151). In 1988 China had ratified the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159); in 1989 it had completed the preparatory work for the ratification of the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) and the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144). In Czechoslovakia, the Minister of Labour had submitted for the approval of the Government the ratification of the following Conventions: No. 95 on the Protection of Wages, 1949; No. 120 on Hygiene (Commerce and Offices), 1964; No. 139 on Occupational Cancer, 1974; and No. 148 on the Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration), 1977. Examination of the ratification of the Seamen's Welfare Convention, 1987 (No. 163) and the Health Protection and Medical Care (Seafarers) Convention, 1987 (No. 164) was at a very advanced stage and other ratifications were envisaged. Gabon had ratified three new Conventions: Convention No. 144, the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154) and the Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (No. 158). Greece had recently ratified the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141) and the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142). Hungary had ratified the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167) (as well as the amendments to the Constitution of the ILO). In Italy, the most recent ratification was dated May 1989 and concerned the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160), and several other Conventions were currently being examined. In 1988, Tunisia had ratified the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) and the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150); in 1989, it had ratified the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159). Uruguay had ratified in May 1989 the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141), the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150), the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151), the Hours of Work and Rest Periods (Road Transport) Convention, 1979 (No. 153) and the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154). The Government of the USSR was preparing to ratify a whole series of Conventions. Work was under way towards the ratification of two maritime Conventions, No. 133 on Accommodation of Crews (Supplementary Provisions), 1970 and No. 147 on Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards), 1976; the ratification of the Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127) and the Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162) was being prepared. The USSR also envisaged ratifying the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) and the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160). The Worker member of the United States, after recalling the ratification by his country in 1988 of Convention No. 144 and the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147), indicated the substantial progress made towards ratification of the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160); major progress had also been made regarding the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) which would represent the first ratification by the United States of a human rights Convention, and work was advancing for several other Conventions in this field. The Government member of the United States noted that her Government had long felt that, even though in practice United States law met or exceeded, in almost every case, that which was set out in international labour Conventions, an improved record of ratification was an important objective towards which to strive.

11. On the negative side of the evaluation of the obligations binding member states were the denunciations of Conventions. In paragraph 15 of the report of the Committee of Experts, it was stated that in 1988 the Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 (No. 45) had been denounced by Australia, Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. Luxembourg had also denounced the Protection against Accidents (Dockers) Convention, 1929 (No. 28), whereas the denunciation by the Netherlands of the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121), which was mentioned in the report of the Committee of Experts, had been withdrawn by the Government (see below). The total number of denunciations not accompanied by the ratification of a revised Convention now stood at 53.

12. The Workers' members of the Committee expressed their concern at the number of denunciations. The Employers' members observed that the denunciations mentioned were, to some extent, linked to changes in opinion as to whether special protection for women was still justified or whether it constituted an obstacle to equality of opportunity and treatment. According to the representative of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), this argument based on equality seemed to be advanced more to aggravate the situation of protected categories of workers in the name of equality instead of being used to improve the situation of everyone; he considered this trend towards denunciation worrying and dangerous and hoped that it would be fought more energetically. The Government member of France thought that a high number of denunciations of a certain type of Convention should be seen as a signal; the Organisation should, in his opinion, accelerate its re-examination of certain instruments which were perhaps no longer well-suited to modern conditions. In the Employers' members' opinion, the Organisation should in any case investigate these questions so as to be in a position to react, where appropriate, more rapidly. The Government member of the Netherlands had already announced to the Committee the withdrawal of his Government's decision to denounce which had been opposed by the workers' organisations. This decision had been based on the belief in a divergence between the instrument and the Dutch legislation due basically to the fact that the principle of occupational risk contained in the Convention had been replaced by the principle of social risk in the Netherlands. Consultations between Office experts and the Dutch authorities had permitted clarification of the situation and the removal of doubts. One of the lessons which the Government member had drawn from this affair was that it showed the necessity of close co-ordination between the lawyers of the Office and national jurists: their interpretation of ILO standards might differ widely, although neither of them was authoritative since, as was known, only the International Court of Justice was competent in this regard. The Government member of France observed further that the circumstances surrounding the denunciation of Conventions were not easy. That could perhaps explain, in part, the "false" denunciation of Convention No. 121 by the Netherlands.

B. General questions relating to international labour standards

Standard-setting activities and the supervisory system

13. This year 53 speakers took part in the discussion of general questions relating to international labour standards. This was the highest number ever recorded. But beyond this purely quantitative aspect - which was doubtless not without importance - it was the sense and the content of the interventions which epitomised the essential characteristic of this session. Indeed, after many years of difficult dialogue in the search for compromise solutions on questions of substance affecting often divergent or even antagonistic interests and positions, the Committee this year had heard one common voice speaking on the major problems which had so often stirred it in previous years. As the Workers' members had pointed out in concluding this discussion, this was the first time that such wide unanimity on the principle of the universality of standards, the objectivity, impartiality and independence of the supervisory system, the role and work of the Committee of Experts and the nature of the links between the supervisory bodies had been achieved. Another subject which had been widely discussed was that concerning the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), especially its conflicting relationship with the massive debt problem of developing countries and the implementation of structural adjustment policies. A reflection of this discussion, as faithful as possible regarding the essential points, but not at all exhaustive, appears in the following paragraphs.

14. This year the Conference was celebrating the 70th anniversary of the International Labour Organisation. The Committee of Experts had seized this occasion to recall the considerations written into the Preamble of the ILO's Constitution in 1919 namely, that universal and lasting peace could be established only if based on social justice, were still, in 1989, the framework in which it carried out its functions (see paragraph 10 of its general report). The importance of an anniversary in an organisation such as the ILO did not lie in its festive celebration, but in the critical review, in the positive sense of the term, of its past achievements and in the prospective review that would be made of its future achievements. The discussions within this Committee had unambiguously shown unanimity as regarded the permanence of the ILO's basic objectives, the unique value and dynamism of its standard-setting activities and the attachment shown more and more clearly by member States and occupational groups to its aims and values.

15. Several speakers recalled the importance of the established standards of the ILO, patiently elaborated and unceasingly complemented since its beginnings. According to the Government member of the Netherlands, the ILO's instruments were the foundation of the ILO itself. The Government member of the United States observed that a good number of these standards dealt with basic and inalienable workers' rights. Representative from developing countries, for example, the Government member of India and the government member of Malaysia speaking on behalf of the members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Workers' members of China and Pakistan, stressed the importance of standard-setting activities for the promotion of balanced economic and social development, for guaranteeing the legitimate freedoms and rights of workers particularly at the trade union level, and finally, for replying to the wishes and hopes of the workers of these countries. A representative of the socialist countries, the Government member of Bulgaria, along with many other members, was of the view that, by their impact on the contents of national legislation and their guiding role in the search for solutions to the problems linked to the protection of human rights and of the most underprivileged social groups, to the guarantee of full employment, to safety and health at work, international labour standards made an important contribution to the promotion of social justice which was an essential prerequisite for long-lasting peace.

16. This widely attested confirmation of the value and more than ever topical nature of the principles and standards of the ILO required affirmation - or reaffirmation as the Government member of India wished - of a commitment to the aims of the ILO and an undertaking to take up the challenges that the world of tomorrow would present. Certain representatives made statements along these lines. The Government member of the USSR informed the Committee that a message had been sent to the President of the 76th Session of the International Labour Conference from the President of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in which the Council stated that the USSR shared and fully supported the objectives and principles of the ILO, whose task of drawing up Conventions and Recommendations, covering practically all aspects of working life and protection of the social concerns of workers, was of primordial importance. This speaker recalled that the USSR regarded highly the ILO's contribution to strengthening stability in the international community. The development of co-operation with the Office - to which "perestroika" had greatly contributed - could be further consolidated in new fields in his opinion. Another speaker, the Workers' member of Pakistan, also informed the Committee of the commitment, duly noted by the Director-General of the ILO, of his country' s new Government to bring the national labour policy into conformity with the Conventions of the ILO.

17. Looking at current events, the Employers' members stated that the Committee of Experts had quite rightly referred to the principles set out in the Preamble to the Constitution of the ILO and that present-day developments towards peace - if they could continue without reversals - could have positive results in the social field. For their part, the Workers' members observed that, during the past year, even if the news was worrying in a good number of countries, many political developments had enabled reforms and improvements in economic and social situations in others. They stressed that such reforms had to be accompanied by the enjoyment of freedom and by the exercise of democracy so as to result in lasting peace based on justice, in the service of the most destitute and most vulnerable.

18. As for future standard-setting activities, although the Government member of Norway considered that the Organisation should first try to review and modernise existing standards, others were in favour of pursuing the elaboration of new standards. The world was changing, techniques were evolving and developments did not always involve progress for the workers and, indeed, were often accompanied by increased risks that countries had to be able to overcome. The instruments of the ILO should be able to adapt to these changes and to new requirements. These were basically the opinions expressed by, in particular, the Government members of Czechoslovakia and Morocco, as well as by the representative of the WFTU. The Government members of Norway and Portugal. drew attention to the importance of ensuring the greatest and most energetic participation possible of all member States in the process of drawing up standards. In this regard, the Government member of Norway, speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries. stated that he was in favour of initiatives to arrange the procedures along these lines given that they would facilitate more extensive ratification and better compliance with the Conventions. The Government member of Portugal regretted that the Office had received such a low number of replies to the questionnaire on night work and on safety in the use of chemical substances in the workplace.

19. The wish was expressed, in particular by the Government member of Norway, speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries, to see attempts made to find types of flexibility for standards when they were being formulated which would allow the aim of universality in standard-setting activities to be reconciled with the heterogeneous nature of national situations. To this end the above-mentioned speaker proposed that, in the future, the ILO seek to adopt standards which, without giving up its essential aspirations, would be framed in such a way that countries with different political systems at different stages of development would be able to ratify them. He emphasised, however, that this flexibility should apply only to the formulation, and not to the implementation, of standards. The Government members of Australia and Saudi Arabia spoke along the same lines. For his part, the Government member of Malaysia, speaking on behalf of the ASEAN countries, wondered whether, by reason of the tremendous disparity between nations in terms of industrial and economic development, it was possible to establish a set of universally applicable labour standards. In his opinion, the most appropriate way might be to adopt only standards which laid down sufficiently broad and basic guidelines and which left considerable flexibility in other respects to enable ratifying States to adapt them according to local traditions. He stressed, however, that in arguing for more flexible standards, ASEAN countries were not apologising for any manifestation of laxity in the application of ratified Conventions by developing countries, in particular when Conventions concerning workers' rights, the right to organise, the principles of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were involved.

20. As was indicated above, the interventions concerning the supervisory system showed a notable improvement over the discussions of previous years on the subject. Employers' members, Workers' members and Government members, in the main, recognised the quality of the work of the Committee of Experts carried out faithfully with respect to its tradition of independence, objectivity and impartiality. These principles applied to the Conference Committee, which continued to apply the methods of work which had been agreed upon in 1980. Appreciation had been particularly expressed for the part of the Committee of Experts' report (paragraph 7) where it indicated that its own working methods included the spirit of mutual respect, co-operation and responsibility which had consistently prevailed in the Committee' s relations with the International Labour Conference and its Committee on the Application of Standards, whose proceedings the Committee took 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 various States fulfilled their standard-setting obligations. The Employers' and Workers' members noted with interest this clarification made by the Committee of Experts on the relationship of the two supervisory bodies and of their roles. Many Government members referred to this. The Government member of the USSR, after recalling this numerous interventions during previous sessions of the Conference, welcomed the above mentioned statement of the Committee of Experts on the relationship between that Committee and this Committee. Since, in his opinion, all possibilities for co-operation and interaction between the various supervisory bodies had not yet been exhausted, he hoped that there would be still further movement in this direction.

21. As regarded the interpretation of Conventions, the Employers' members indicated that, if the report of the Committee of Experts was the very basis of the Committee's work, this was not to say that all the opinions and evaluations of the Committee of Experts had to be shared, and different views would be expressed if necessary in concrete cases. The Employers' member of the United States stated, basically, that the jurisprudence of the Committee of Experts was sometimes unstable, evolving and variable. The Employers' member of Sweden recalled the views expressed by the Employers' members on the supervisory system and on the respective roles played by the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee. Only one body - the International Court of Justice - could make authoritative interpretations of international labour Conventions. Recourse to it had seldom been sought, probably because there had been considerable satisfaction with the way the system functioned. None the less, the role of the International Court of Justice as the ultimate arbiter should always be borne in mind. A Convention had to be interpreted in line with the principles laid down in the Vienna Convention on Treaties (1969), which the speaker enumerated. He drew attention to a representative case he thought showed an over-interpretation of Convention No. 96, based on a faulty reading of the preparatory works many years ago. In his view, this year's report of the Committee of Experts unfortunately contained a number of over-interpretations, especially regarding basic human rights Conventions and in particular Convention No. 87. Even though his country had not been mentioned in this connection, he thought that some of the comments were inadmissible. In the long term, he believed over-interpretations would only erode the credibility of the supervisory system. A drastic cut was needed in the number of reports examined by the Committee of Experts each year. This should be combined, however, with a rather strict application of the constitutional annual interval where a report had given rise to critical observations. If the Committee of Experts' burden were lightened, then more than one expert would be able to examine the application of a particular Convention. These speakers reiterated that it was neither for the Committee of Experts nor the Office to provide conclusive interpretations of Conventions since the only competent body for this was the International Court of Justice according to article 37 (1) of the Constitution of the ILO.

22. Commenting on the statement of the Employers' member of Sweden, the Workers' member of the United Kingdom was opposed to this stance which he considered dangerous, particularly when it came to a Convention such as Convention No. 87... what was, for some, only a legal nicety was hard reality for workers, for example, when there was imprisonment for having exercised the right to strike. The Workers' member of the Netherlands, referring to the statement of the Employers' member of the United States concerning the changes in the jurisprudence, observed that if it was normal that the doctrine of the Committee of Experts had undergone developments, this in no way meant that one could talk of incoherencies.

23. At the closure of the general discussion, the representative of the Secretary-General stated that the Committee of Experts had itself recognised, and recalled on many occasions - particularly in 1987 when it re-examined its terms of reference, governing principles and working methods - that: "its terms of reference do not require it to give definitive interpretations of conventions, competence to do so being vested in the International Court of Justice by article 37 of the Constitution; nevertheless, in order to carry out its function of evaluating the implementation of Conventions, the Committee has to consider and express its views on the meaning of certain provisions of Conventions". In 1921, in a document to which the Office still referred, it was clearly indicated that no particular authorisation had been granted to it to interpret provisions of Conventions. However, it was considered to be part of the task for which the Office was created to strive to provide the fullest information possible on the intentions of the Committee and the Conference which had drafted the Convention. In this way, the Office considered that there would be greater uniformly in interpretation. Thus the last time the Governing Body has examined the question of the interpretation of Conventions, in 1982, it had concluded that the current practice concerning interpretation was entirely satisfactory. The representative of the Secretary-General indicated that it was within the power of governments disagreeing with the interpretations given by the supervisory bodies to have recourse to the International Court of Justice. In two cases, the Committee of Experts had drawn attention to this option. On the questions of the right to strike and essential services, it could be said that the jurisprudence of the supervisory bodies was consistent. On the right to strike, both the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association had considered this right to be one of the essential means available to workers and their organisations to promote and to defend their economic and social interests. This principle had always been supported by both supervisory bodies which, over time, had fixed the conditions in which this right could be exercised. The Committee on Freedom of Association and the Committee of Experts had also admitted, that once the principle of the right to strike had been established, this right could be subject to restrictions, or even prohibition, in essential services in the strict sense of the term, namely those whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. However, to this principle relating to the prohibition of strikes in essential services, they had added the notion that this principle would lose all meaning if such services were defined too broadly. This jurisprudence had not varied.

24. The Workers' members fully subscribed to this declaration.

Constitutional procedures of complaint and representation and other procedures

25. At paragraphs 18 to 26 of its report, the Committee of Experts provided indications, on the one hand, on the cases in which there had been recourse to the constitutional procedures of complaint and representation and, on the other hand, on the conclusion of the Committee on Freedom of Association to which the attention of the Committee of Experts had been drawn.

26. At paragraph 19 of the general report of the Committee of Experts, mention was made of the withdrawal of the complaint presented by the Government of Tunisia under article 26 of the Constitution on the observation, by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) after a settlement between the parties has been reached through the good offices of the Office. The Employers' members and the Workers' members expressed their satisfaction with the settlement of this case and the way in which this had been achieved. This example was, in the opinion of the Employers' members, an ideal type of solution.

27. The situation, however, was different in another case mentioned in paragraph 20 of the report of the Committee of Experts. This concerned the current examination by the Governing Body of a complaint concerning the observance, by Nicaragua, of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) and the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) presented by several Employer delegates to the 73rd Session (1987) of the Conference under article 26 of the Constitution. The Employers' members pointed out that the examination of the matter had had to be carried over on several occasions because of the lack of adequate information transmitted by the Government. They wished to stress the unacceptability of such an attitude by the Government. Referring to the same case, the Workers' member of the USSR was of the view that this Committee should take into account the statements and conclusions contained in the document approved by the Governing Body at its May 1989 session, a document which had not been available when the Committee of Experts made its report based on the conclusions approved by the Governing Body at its February-March session.

28. At paragraph 24 of its general report, the Committee of Experts referred to a complaint submitted to the ILO by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) against the Republic of South Africa concerning violations of freedom of association. In accordance with the procedure for the examination of complaints concerning violations of trade union rights, established in 1950 by agreement between the United Nations and the ILO, the Secretary-General of the United Nations requested the Government of South Africa to consent to the referral of the complaint to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association of the ILO. The Government of South Africa replied that it would be premature to transmit the complaint to that Commission. Commenting on this case on behalf of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), the Government member of Norway regretted the refusal of the South African Government to allow the procedure to follow its course. He expressed the hope that effective pressure could be brought to bear on the Government to persuade it to change its decision.

29. If, as mentioned above, the constitutional procedures had resulted - at least in one case - in a satisfactory conclusion, there remained, in the opinion of the Workers' members, many serious problems still unsolved: 70 complaints concerning freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively were still under examination. As regarded this type of complaint and examination procedure, the Workers' member of Tunisia regretted that Office interventions were complex, slow and therefore ineffective; in his opinion, ways had to be found to make the Committee on Freedom of Association truly representative of the trade union movement.

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

30. As in previous years, the Committee of Experts this year included, in paragraphs 51 to 57 of its report, general comments on the application of Convention No. 122. These comments represented a summary of the examination of 50 government reports. The Committee of Experts stated on this occasion that it was "more convinced than ever of the need for exchange of information among countries which had ratified the Convention: the need to study different experience and difficulties, and to evaluate the strategies and policies adopted". Aware of the complexity of its task, given the nature and breadth of the Convention, the Committee of Experts based its examination and comments firstly on the governments' reports, which were often detailed. In each case it relied on the expertise of the economists in the Employment and Development Department of the ILO and the regional employment teams (such as PREALC in Latin America). Where necessary, it took advantage of the work of the new Employment Committee of the Governing Body, whose mandate had been carefully defined to avoid overlap with its own work. Finally, and this merited recall in the context of the discussions this year, the Committee of Experts took into account, since it had started making its general comments, the information, ideas, suggestions or recommendations arising from the exchange of views which took place in the Conference Committee on this subject. The Conference Committee had noted in its report to the Conference in June 1988 (paragraph 50) that the dialogue which had been taking place between the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee was considered to be exemplary. The Committee of Experts would no doubt be comforted in its approach by the opinions and wishes expressed this year within the Committee - and to which reference was made in this report - regarding the necessary relationship of the two supervisory bodies.

31. To give some concrete examples, there was agreement on the analyses made on the question of the international aspect, or globalisation, of employment problems. These problems, noted by the Committee of Experts in paragraph 57 of its report, concerned "all countries, whatever their level of development or economic or employment system. Every country has to deal with problems of economic restructuring, structural adjustment, employment promotion and the skills of the workforce in one way or another". Some might say that this was evident, but if a number of countries had had to battle for some time with these difficulties others had only met them recently and the examination of the application of Convention No. 122 could be of new interest there. The Committee of Experts noted that almost everywhere practices of exclusion, marginalisation, segregation and discrimination were still rife. It therefore appeared opportune to recall the need to promote the "main" goal of full, productive and freely chosen employment set out in the Convention, attributing to it the necessary weight among the priorities of economic and social policies.

32. The discussion within the Committee of the general comments of the Committee of Experts had been enriched by the interventions, in addition to those of the spokesmen of the Workers' and Employers' members, of a great many speakers, mainly Government and Workers' members, representative of the various regions of the world and of different economic and social systems. They were practically unanimous in recognising the central and priority nature of the question of employment, unemployment and underemployment, the value of the goals of Convention No. 122, and in appreciating the analyses presented by the Committee of Experts in its general comments. In this respect, they referred to the Director-General' s Report on Recovery and Employment and its discussion in plenary. Its work of summarising and its approach to the problems were particulary praised by the Government member of Venezuela, who suggested similar treatment for other Conventions; the Committee of Experts was encouraged to pursue its action, for example, by the Workers' member of the USSR. As for the means of implementation to bring about the employment objectives, the positions were not always the same, naturally, between the groups which represented conflicting interests and between the countries which had different economic and employment systems. There was quasiunanimity expressed as regarded the aims and the evaluations of the Experts. The Employers' members expressed certain reservations as to the pertinence of giving priority to one objective of economic and social policy, be it that of employment, to the detriment of other economic and financial factors; they also questioned the capacity of the Committee of Experts to cover such a vast field of States' internal policies. Although they were eminent jurists, the Experts were perhaps not predestined to treat questions of employment policy. Caution seemed to the Employers' members to be advisable. They also drew attention to the risk of overlapping of work between the Committee of Experts and the Governing Body Employment Committee.

33. The part of the Committee of Experts' comments which gave rise to the most numerous and the most committed discussions was that appearing in paragraph 55, devoted to particular difficulties encountered by governments of developing countries, mainly in Africa or Latin America, in formulating and implementing an employment policy in an international economic environment marked, in particular, by the massive debt problem. On the basis of information supplied, in one case, by a workers' organisation and, in two other cases, by the governments in their respective reports, the Committee of Experts was able to note the relationship of cause and effect between the problems of external debt, balance of payments, structural adjustment policies, and those of employment. In the first case, that of a Latin American country, it was alleged that the stabilisation and structural adjustment programmes had affected social policy measures and the conditions and standards of living. In the case of an African country, the Government had decided to abandon the adjustment programme prepared in agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on account of its negative effects on the economy and employment. The third reference concerned another Latin American country which recently experienced serious social tensions and whose government stated in its report that the measures imposed by the international financial institutions were "diametrically opposed to the aims of the Convention".

34. Many of the members who spoke referred to or commented on the examples mentioned by the Committee of Experts and others presented additional information or evidence to the Committee. They expressed their agreement with the analyses and concerns of the Committee of Experts concerning the impact of the high level of external debt, interest rates, or the deterioration in exchange rates (for example, the Government members of Morocco and Venezuela). More precisely, several speakers referred to the structural adjustment programmes adopted, usually, in agreement with the international economic and financial organisations (IMF, World Bank) and to their perverse or counterproductive effects on employment and revenue. The application of Convention No. 122 was directly involved. The Government member of Nigeria referred to the example of his country where the debt problem hindered the efforts of his Government to maintain employment or create new jobs. Several other members also stressed the difficulties created by these situations for the application of Convention No. 122, as well as for the application of other basic Conventions; the tensions arising from policies put into place had, in many cases, resulted in severe restrictions on trade union rights and human rights. These points of view were put forward particularly by the Government member of Argentina, the Workers' members of China, Pakistan, Spain and the United Kingdom, while the representative of the WFTU and the Employers' member of Argentina highlighted one of the consequences of unemployment and inflation; namely, the development of the unstructured sector. More generally, speakers from African countries described as "crucial" the debt problem in Africa, where the situation was such that it had become economically and socially worrying, politically dangerous and liable to question the sovereignty of States (Workers' members of Liberia and Senegal; a similar opinion on the "political" risks was also expressed by the Workers' member of the United Kingdom).

35. Several of the speakers, who had stressed the responsibility of the international financial organisations for having neglected or minimised the social cost of structural adjustment policies and programmes, stated that the ILO should be more visible and active. The High-Level Meeting on Employment and Structural Adjustment (November 1987) recalled the constitutional responsibility of the ILO and the fact that it was for it to examine and consider the action programmes and economic and financial measures in the light of their effect on employment and social conditions. The Meeting concluded that the ILO should promote tripartite consultations and cooperation in the service of adjustment and that it should monitor respect for its standards on employment, fundamental rights and tripartism. Last year, the Committee had had an initial discussion on this meeting (see paragraphs 54 and 55 of its report). This year, several of the speakers mentioned above stressed the need to ensure a follow up to the conclusions of the above-mentioned Meeting (in particular, the Government members of Australia, France, Uruguay and the Workers' member of Pakistan). For its part, the Committee of Experts was invited to continue its action in this regard, particularly by the Government members of Tunisia and Venezuela.

36. The Committee of Experts' examination of reports from industrialised market economy countries showed a continuation of the trend towards rising employment and falling levels of unemployment, already noticed last year (see paragraph 53 of the 1989 report). This improvement was noted by the Employers' members and the Workers' members of the Committee. The spokesman of the latter, however, stressed that the good economic indices registered these last years should not hide the fact that a mass of workers were included from labour markets, namely, 15 million unemployed in the 12 countries of the EEC, or 30 million in the countries of the OECD.

37. A certain number of comments were made on the measures of employment policy referred to in the report of the Committee of Experts. The Government member of Norway pointed in particular to the comment of the Committee of Experts that the best results had been obtained by countries pursuing employment policies along the lines of the goals of the Convention, and through methods of implementation set out in it. The Government members of Italy and Spain drew attention to the importance of training programmes, the encouragement of creating independent employment for the unemployed, and the measures taken to help young people or women in the framework of employment policies. The Employers' members mentioned the reference made in the Experts' report to the reduction in working time, in relation to the aims of employment, and stressed that this measure should be evaluated differently according to whether or not it was accompanied by maintenance of remuneration.

38. But in the end, it was the concerns expressed by the Committee of Experts with regard to certain special, or "flexible", types of employment in relation to the goal of full employment set out in the Convention, which received attention. The Workers' member of Finland - who preferred to talk of "irregular" or "atypical" types of employment when referring to part-time or temporary work - and that of Spain, as well as the representative of the WFTU, shared the Committee of Experts' concerns as to the conformity of these types of employment, when they were not voluntary, with the goal of full employment of Convention No. 122. According to the Workers' member of Spain, the practice of replacing stable employment by precarious forms of employment (such as short-term renewable contracts) was unacceptable, especially when the undertakings received financial aid from the government for the creation of this type of position. For the Workers' member of Finland, new standards were needed to protect workers since these types of employment were being further developed. The spokesman of the Workers' members expressed a slightly different opinion, making a distinction between flexibility in employment - which could be acceptable if negotiated - and precarious employment - which could only constitute a temporary solution in periods of crisis. The spokesman of the Employers' members, who criticised the way in which the Committee of Experts presented the problem, clarified the Employers' position on this question. He stated that they rejected descriptions like "precarious" or "atypical" because of their negative connotation and that they had never suggested that such alternative forms of work were the ideal solution for ensuring full employment. In their opinion, however, such work opportunities were certainly preferable to unemployment and could really offer an opportunity to achieve full employment, as had seen these last few years. Another important factor was that more and more people were voluntarily seeking it out. Speaking generally, this was an inevitable consequence of structural changes in production and services which were also linked to reductions in working hours. The Employers' members wished to state clearly that these flexible forms of work should not lead to a diminuation in workers' protection. With the Workers' members, they stated that they were in favour of recourse to collective bargaining for the organisation of this type of work relations. Speaking more generally, consultation and negotiation machinery were recognised as special means for implementing a policy to promote labour productivity and employment, as had been pointed out, for example, bthe spokesman of the Workers' group and the Government member of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Employers' members, highlighting along with the Committee of Experts that the unemployed had no pressure groups, stated that common, concerted action was necessary with regard to this category of the active population.

39. Proving the assertion that employment problems concerned all countries, the Committee of Experts had devoted a part of its general comments (paragraph 56) to the problems and employment policies in socialist countries with planned economies. On the basis of often detailed reports and information supplied by these countries, the Committee of Experts had been able to gauge the amplitude of changes which were occurring in the field of labour management in the framework of the current process of restructuring the economies of these countries. It stated its interest in following developments in the situation and in examining the way in which the global or sectoral policies now in place would allow the conciliation of the goal of full employment and the guarantee of the right to work with that of "real" employment at the level of the undertaking. Several representatives of these countries intervened and presented the Committee with information corroborating or complementing the comments of the Committee of Experts. The Government member of the USSR recognised that, in socialist countries, the reform of economic institutions and the development of independent workers' collectives also gave rise to employment problems. In the USSR, for example, 16 million people would probably lose their jobs over the next 15 years. During the past two years, the State had found new jobs for 3 million workers. Although the Government had run into certain difficulties in this connection, it was pursuing its policy of full employment based on recognition of the right to work; a decree had been adopted in 1987 which was intended to guarantee full employment to the population, to improve the placement system and to strengthen social guarantees. The right to work would be guaranteed to all persons whose posts had been cut out. The Workers' member of the German Democratic Republic stressed the role of trade unions in the implementation of employment policies. It was one of the first and foremost duties of trade unions to participate in the conception of methods to struggle against unemployment, in securing workers' security in employment, and in informing them of planned rationalisation measures. Referring to his country, he stated that the constant participation of workers' representatives in the preparation of workers for new jobs and the supervision of the implementation of social measures accompanying rationalisation had been highly successful. The co-operation of unions in introducing new techniques had been particularly significant in ensuring the reintegration of workers. He also stated that the trade unions in socialist countries would continue to send comments on their experiences regarding employment and would thus reply to the request for information made by the Committee of Experts. The representative of another socialist country, the Government member of Hungary, also informed the Committee of his country's experience, where the aims and tasks of the employment policy had also been redefined. To be able to put these aims - which concerned mainly the raising of labour productivity and the guaranteeing for workers of the maintenance of social protection - into practice, an employment fund had been created. It would particularly serve in financing recycling costs, unemployment benefits and in providing financial assistance for the creation of small enterprises. His Government intended to reform the employment agencies, particularly by introducing computers, and it wanted to be able to benefit from the ILO's experience and that of member States in this field. Finally, the Workers' member of the USSR observed that the current reforms introduced, among other things, a greater employment flexibility, and he indicated that labour flexibility was designed above all to lighten and improve working conditions; in fact, in his country, the problem of unemployment did not arise, at least for the moment, with the same acuity as in market economy countries. Commenting on paragraph 56 of the report of the Committee of Experts, the Employers' and Workers' members of the Committee showed their interest in the reforms currently under way in socialist planned economy countries, which put particular emphasis on the notions of productivity, responsibility and autonomy. The Employers' members were also surprised, as regards the socialist countries with planned economies, that the Committee of Experts had noted with interest, but no critical note, the new efforts being made, as well as the measures aimed at introducing greater flexibility, in particular in the form of part-time work. They wondered whether the Committee of Experts had practised that which it had always rejected; namely, the application of double standards. The Workers' member of the USSR expressed his disagreement with the statement of the Chairman of the Employers' group to the effect that the Committee of Experts was duplicating the work of the Governing Body Committee of Employment, quoting from the report "The principal means at the ILO's disposal - standards and technical co-operation - should be used together by emphasing their complementarity in order to reach the goals of the Convention; namely, full, productive and freely chosen employment".

Application of Conventions to off-shore industrial installations and in export processing zones or enterprises.

40. As indicated in its general report, between 1981 and 1987 the Committee of Experts considered the applicability of international labour Conventions to offshore industrial installations used in the exploration and extraction of mineral and petroleum resources at sea. In 1987, a preliminary study was carried out by the Office with a view to defining the main problems to be examined. During the last Session of the Committee, the Workers' members had expressed the hope that the study in question would be finished for the 76th Session of the Conference and that the Committee of Experts would continue its examination as planned. The Committee was informed that a preliminary report had been concluded during 1988, the general lines of which were set out in the general part of the report of the Committee of Experts (paragraphs 42 to 47). That Committee felt that it would be premature at this stage for it to comment on the various points raised in the information presented and hoped that in due course a comparative study of the law and practice of a selected number of countries would be carried out. The Employers' members shared the Committee of Experts view that it was premature to carry out an evaluation on the state of the situation. For the Workers' members - many of whom were attentive to the problems of seafarers - now was the time to go further with a view to defining the way in which such installations could be better protected through different approaches. They questioned the adequacy of the attention given to these activities in the reports supplied by governments and in those of the Committee of Experts. In this connection, the representative of the WFTU considered that priority should be given to the financing and rapid completion of the comparative study suggested by the Committee of Experts; the increased number and size of these installations had provoked dramatic accidents which had evidenced the serious safety problems.

41. As regarded the application of Conventions in export processing zones or enterprises, the Committee of Experts, which had also examined the question in 1981, recalled that it was continuing its consideration within the framework of its regular supervision of the application of ratified Conventions, namely, in the observations and direct requests addressed to the countries concerned. In this regard, the Government member of Venezuela did not want the analysis thus carried out through Conventions and individual comments to deprive the Committee of a future study of the question in the general part of the Committee of Experts' report.

Role of employers' and workers' organisations

42. In its report, the Committee of Experts indicated that, since its last session, it had received a total of 154 observations from occupational organisations, including 113 from workers' organisations. The Workers' members highlighted the importance of this figure which witnessed - as noted by the Committee of Experts - the interest shown by employers' and workers' organisations in the implementation of standards and reflected the constant efforts of the supervisory bodies and the Office to supply interested organisations with full information on their role. In this regard, the Government member of Portugal highlighted in her intervention the growing importance of occupational organisations in the field of adoption, ratification and implementation of standards. The Committee of Experts also indicated that 75 of the 154 observations received had been transmitted directly to the Office. The Workers' members welcomed this way of proceeding which bore witness of the confidence these organisations had in the ILO, subject to the fact that it should not hinder dialogue with the Government.

43. The Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), the real incentive for the promotion of tripartism, had, to date, received 45 ratifications. The Committee of Experts repeated its hope, based on the favourable ratification prospects it had noted in its 1982 General Survey, of seeing an increase in the number of commitments undertaken by member States as regarded this instrument. Several speakers expressed full support for the encouragement of its ratification and/or stressed the importance of the instrument (in particular, the Workers' members and Government members of Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany). According to one of them for example (the Government member of the Federal Republic of Germany), the tripartite structure and tripartite cooperation of the Organisation were characteristics which differentiated the ILO from all other organisations within the United Nations system. They were the real strength of the ILO since they encouraged dialogue, co-operation and the settlement of differences. This was particularly important for countries where the national machinery for such co-operation was insufficient. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the ILO, it was important to recall that tripartite co-operation had opened the door to social progress, particularly in the field of human rights. Tripartism was useful for dialogue between different political and socio-economic systems and it contributed to social justice. Several countries informed the Committee of the measures taken and progress achieved in these fields. The Government member of Hungary, in particular, mentioned the creation this year of a tripartite committee which was considered to be an important step towards the establishment of permanent tripartite consultations on labour questions; he also referred to the development of trade union pluralism during the past year, which had involved the creation of eight new independant unions. Finally, the Workers' member of the USSR stated that, in his country, the workers were actively involved in the ratification process through their membership in a tripartite committee.

Promotional activities concerning standards

44. Paragraphs 58 to 63 of the Committee of Experts' report contained information on the use of the direct contacts procedure and other forms of assistance to member States in the field of international labour standards. During 1988, direct contacts missions concerning freedom of association took place in Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti and Nicaragua. Direct contacts took place in Bangladesh concerning the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) and Guatemala concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). Another direct contacts mission was undertaken in the Dominican Republic and Haiti with a view to the implementation of the recommendations made in 1983 by the Commission of Inquiry concerning Haitian workers in the sugar plantations of the Dominican Republic. The Regional Advisers on Standards, whose task consisted essentially in assisting governments to fulfil their obligations under the ILO Constitution and ratified Conventions, visited 20 countries in Africa, America, and Asia and the Pacific. Nineteen officials, two employers and four observers from 23 countries undertook training in the International Labour Standards Department. This Department organised two regional seminars on international labour standards designed for government officials directly responsible for questions relating to international labour standards and, in particular, on the fulfilment by States of the obligations deriving from the ILO Constitution and ratified Conventions. In addition, the Regional Advisers on Standards participated in the work of a number of seminars organised by other ILO departments in various regions of the world. National tripartite seminars on international labour standards were held in five countries and six seminars on freedom of association were organised for workers' and employers' organisations.

45. The Committee welcomed the continuation of these activities which aimed at assisting member States of the Organisation in better fulfilling their obligations concerning standards and the standards-setting procedures of the ILO. Several speakers (for example, the Government members of Gabon and Somalia, the Workers' member of Pakistan) attested to the usefulness of these programmes. The Government member of Hungary stated his country's interest in these programmes. The Committee, convinced of the special interest which developing countries had in such promotional activities since it had been shown that their problems concerning standards were often due to administrative and financial difficulties, agreed that these activities should be strengthened. The representative of the Secretary-General assured the Committee that this would be the objective aimed at within the limits of available resources.

46. The promotional activities mentioned above took place in the context of action aimed at strengthening the links between international standards and technical co-operation. In this regard, the Committee of Experts welcomed the new measures envisaged in the Programme and Budget for 1990-91 and expressed the hope that they would contribute to a better application in practice of the ILO's standards. The Committee of Experts indicated that it would continue to draw the attention of governments to the value of requesting ILO technical assistance for overcoming difficulties in the application of ratified Conventions. In addition, in the part of its general comments relating to the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) (paragraph 52), it stated that, in the examination of the application of this instrument, it looked favourably on an approach taking account of the inherent relations between standards-setting instruments, the supervision of their application and technical co-operation programmes. The inter-relationship, referred to at length throughout this report, of the two supervisory bodies was also evidenced in this field, as was seen from the above and the intervention of the Government member of the United States, who recalled that the links between standards and technical co-operation activities had become major themes, thanks largely to the support they had received from members of the Conference Committee over the years. This support had not diminished this year.

Reports on ratified Conventions

47. As each year, the Committee of Experts made an assessment of the way in which States fulfilled their constitutional obligations concerning the supply of reports on ratified Conventions. The statistics contained in the report of the Committee of Experts showed generally the continuation of problems noted year after year and, in certain cases, a downward trend in the situation, for example, as regarded the percentage of reports received by the due date (less than 10 per cent) or by the end of the Committee of Experts' session (slightly less than 75 per cent). The Employers' members and the Workers' members expressed their concern at these persistent facts, as did several Government members directly or indirectly (for example, France, Norway, the USSR speaking of "a dangerous trend"). Several members supplied information on the reasons for these shortcomings, based mainly on their own experience. It was common knowledge that most often administrative and technical problems were involved and this did not only concern developing countries (as was pointed out, for example, by the Government members of India and Nigeria). Certain Government members from developed countries stated that they had met similar problems, especially when a large number of Conventions had been ratified, and, in particular, Convention No. 144 which required tripartite consultations for the preparation of reports (indications along these lines were given, in particular, by the Government members of France and the Netherlands. The Government member of Uruguay also spoke in this connection, stressing the importance of technical assistance. The Government member of the United States hoped that reporting difficulties were not being used as a means of delaying or avoiding the supervisory process. A certain number of suggestions were made to the Committee concerning the measures to take to mitigate these difficulties. A request was made for a thorough analysis of the reasons behind this state of affairs and for use to be made of all forms of assistance that the Office could supply for the preparation of reports or for the training of qualified personnel; other suggestions, particularly from the Employers' members, included the revision of the report forms, the spacing out of requests for reports and the deferral of the due date in order to alleviate as far as possible the burden of work on the Committee of Experts and governments; finally, some speakers drew attention to the collaboration of the social partners. The representative of the Secretary-General stated that the Office had taken note of these suggestions and would examine them with due care.

48. While some data contained in the report of the Committee of Experts might give rise to concern, other information contained positive aspects which the Employers' members, in particular, noted. The statistics concerning the percentage of reports on Conventions containing indications on their practical application were quite encouraging (63 per cent). The Employers' members stressed the indispensable nature of the information requested in this connection; transmission of such information should become the rule. They noted with interest the Committee of Experts' statement that, in the majority of cases, no comment was called for regarding the way in which ratified Conventions were implemented (paragraph 91 of the report). The number of cases of progress registered - even if this showed a certain decrease - continued to give satisfaction. These cases were generally considered as proof of the effectiveness of the supervisory machinery. One illustration of this argument was supplied by the Government member of the USSR in relation to the cases of progress registered for his country concerning the Holidays with Pay Convention, 1936 (No. 52) and the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).

Seventh African Regional Conference

49. Several speakers referred to the Seventh African Regional Conference of the ILO which was held in Harare from 27 November to 7 December 1988 and which was mentioned in paragraphs 27 to 29 of the general part of the report of the Committee of Experts.

50. The Employers' members recalled and stressed, on this occasion, the importance they attached to the work of regional conferences. The Workers' members noted in particular that, in its resolution concerning respect for human rights and basic freedoms, the Conference had recalled the role played by the ILO in the defence of workers' rights through its supervisory machinery. The Workers' member of Pakistan noted that the Conference had reaffirmed the principle of the indivisibility of human rights. The Workers' member of Liberia referred to the conclusions and recommendations of the Conference concerning co-operatives and training in rural and urban zones. Finally, the Government member of Nigeria pointed out that, in its resolution on economic development and social progress in Africa, the Conference requested the Director-General of the ILO to strengthen links between technical co-operation and international labour standards.

Functions in regard to other international and regional instruments

51. At paragraphs 30 to 39 of the general part of its report, the Committee of Experts supplied information on the co-operation activities of the Office with other international organisations relating, in particular, to the application of certain international or regional instruments.

52. The Employers' and Workers' members declared their support for these activities, highlighting the importance of co-operation between the various international organisations.

53. Various other speakers referred to particular aspects of these activities mentioned in the report of the Committee of Experts. The Government member of the USSR, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, indicated to the Committee that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet had revoked the reservation made when it ratified the Convention in 1980 concerning non-recognition of the obligatory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (this decision also affected five other international instruments concerning human rights); in addition, and more generally, he highlighted the fact that the process of harmonising national legislation with international convenants and treaties was being pursued actively. Referring to the same instrument, the Government member of Spain drew attention to the co-operation supplied by the Office in this field which greatly interested his Government. The Government member of Norway and the Employers' members mentioned the call, contained in a recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, to ratify the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), of the ILO and to establish systems for the objective evaluation of work. Although they were not opposed to job evaluation, the Employers' members were of the opinion that this was not an automatic guarantee against discrimination in remuneration, especially when it involved evaluation of jobs carried out exclusively either by women or by men. Moreover, the Workers' member of Chile informed the Committee of the ratification by his country of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, certain provisions of which were in conformity with those of Convention No. 87. Referring to the European Code of Social Security, the Government member of Norway noted with satisfaction that the Steering Committee of Experts' conclusions, thus expressing its confidence in the ILO's supervisory procedures. With regard to collaboration with other international organisations, the Workers' member of Japan expressed his satisfaction at its development, but expressed concern at the activities of certain bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank whose imposition of conditions on indebted countries was detrimental to trade union rights (see, on this question, the section concerning the application of Convention No. 122).

Relations with the European Communities

54. The Committee dealt with two themes in this connection. The first concerned the question of the relationship between the rights and duties deriving from the ILO Constitution and the rights and duties under the treaties establishing regional groups. The Committee of Experts in its report (paragraphs 114 to 116) looked at one particular aspect of this problem, that of submission of certain instruments to the appropriate authorities of the European Communities. At its previous session, the Workers' members of the Committee had particularly expressed concern at the consequences of a division of competence between the Communities and their member States for submission and ratification of certain ILO instruments. In its report, the Committee of Experts wished to stress the submission to the appropriate bodies of the European Communities did not fulfil the obligations of the member States concerned under the provisions of article 19 of the Constitution of the ILO or those deriving from ratification of Convention No. 144. The Employers' members observed that respect of the submission obligation was rather complicated, but need not become impossible; the member States of the European Communities had to fulfil their obligations towards the ILO and that went particularly for consultations with employers' and workers' organisations which had to be maintained. Other members of the Committee spoke on those points (in particular, the Workers' members, the Government members of France and the Federal Republic of Germany, the Workers' member of the Netherlands) and observed that the question of submission of instruments to the competent authorities was only one aspect of a more general problem which affected the whole standards-setting process of the Organisation. The transfer of certain elements of sovereignty to a supranational organisation was something new which raised certain difficulties because of the obligations of member States under the ILO's Constitution. The Government member of France noted that the question was becoming more and more topical and new problems were arising which might, according to the Workers' member of the Netherlands, seriously affect the work of the Conference at its current session when it was elaborating new instruments concerning safety in the use of chemical substances in the workplace. The speakers mentioned above expressed the hope that high-level contacts between the two organisations would allow appropriate solutions to bfound to the legal problems as a whole. The representative of the Secretary-General confirmed that such contacts had indeed taken place with this in mind.

55. The second type of problem discussed concerned the forthcoming entry into force (1992) of the single European market. The Workers' members stated that the single market formed by the 12 countries of the Community could give rise to real hope for economic growth and employment. However, they pointed to the need to give a social dimension to Europe on the economic, monetary and financial planes. In their opinion, and in the opinion of the Government member of the Federal Republic of Germany, international labour standards had a determining role to play in the creation of a "base" for basic social rights. The Government member of the Federal Republic of Germany indicated that his Government wanted the social dimension of Europe to take root, whereas the Workers' member of the United Kingdom regretted that his country was not among those pushing for this.

C. Reports requested under article 19 of the Constitution

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102); the Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention (No. 128) and Recommendation (No 131), 1967, in so far as they applied to old-age benefits

56. The Committee examined the Committee of Experts' general survey based on the reports requested under article 19 of the Constitution and regarding the application of the above-mentioned instruments in so far as they concerned old-age benefits. In addition to the information supplied under article 19 of the Constitution, the survey took account of the information supplied under article 22 of the Constitution by States which had ratified Conventions Nos. 102 and 128. Thus, reports from 116 countries - 105 States and 11 non-metropolitan territories - were examined. The general survey also took into account the comment received from employers' and workers' organisations.

General observations

57. The Committee was unanimous in expressing its appreciation of the quality of the Committee of Experts' general survey which supplied valuable information on the general situation of old-age protection through social security, as well as on the problems facing States in this area. The Employers' members, however, regretted that the information supplied by governments was not always sufficiently full and detailed, and this weakened the impact of the survey. The Committee also wished to underline the importance it attached to general surveys in general since they allowed a global view of the subjects covered by the specific instruments involve dent of their ratification. In this context, the Government member of Bulgaria also referred to the usefulness of the discussions which took place each year in the Committee and during which basic questions for the ILO were broached; this exchange of views constituted a useful prerequisite to the implementation of international standards.

58. The Committee stressed the role of social security in general and the need to ensure the protection of the elderly, whose pensions were ofter their only means of support. In this connection, it was recalled that social security had always been of the highest priority for the ILO and that Conventions No. 102 and 128, as well as Recommendation No. 131, had been classified by the Governing Body as instruments requiring priority promotion. In this context, the Workers' members observed that social security should not be considered a luxury, but was the most beautiful achievement since the end of the Second World War. The Workers' member of Greece considered the right to old-age benefit as the workers' due in that it represented a deferred wage paid to them upon their retirement. The pertinence and topicality of systems for old-age protection in developing countries were also stressed. the Government member of Nigeria noted, in particular, that following the disintegration of the extended family system, many adults had ceased to live with their parents; the latter were subsequently obliged to fulfil their own needs themselves and required financial assistance in the form of pensions.

59. The Workers' members, while stressing that it was first for Governments to ensure a decent standard of living for the elderly, stressed the duty of solidarity which workers and employers should respect since the real danger in this field was that of individualism. In this respect, they saw a perfect illustration of tripartism in old-age pension benefits financed by employers' and workers' contributions as well as by fiscal resources. The Employers' members also considered that while State intervention in old-age protection was necessary, solidarity should coexist with self-responsibility.

60. The Government member of Bulgaria indicated that old-age protection went beyond the scope of the application of the instruments discussed in the general survey of the Committee of Experts. It affected numerous other questions which the ILO should look at, such as social services, the suppression of social alienation factors and the improvement in health services. The question of medical care of the elderly was also raised. In particular, the Workers' member of Chile recalled the desperate situation of many pensioners in his country and stressed the need to grant the elderly the right to medical benefits.

61. The Committee expressed its concern at the relatively poor number of ratifications registered for Conventions No. 102 and 128 (32 and 14, respectively). The Workers' members stated that, although convention No. 102 had been ratified by 11 countries of the European communities, only two of their members were bound by Convention No. 128. They hoped that the Committee of Experts' general survey would be able to give new impetus to ratification, as had been the case after the 1961 general survey. Conventions Nos. 102 and 128 contained numerous flexibility clauses which should be better known thanks to the survey. In this respect, the Employers' members wondered whether the opportunities for flexibility provided by these instruments were really sufficient. In addition, after noting that the Committee of Experts had considered that certain difficulties mentioned by States in their reports were purely forms of obstacles, they highlighted the need to launch an information campaign to overcome them and to encourage intensive co-operation between the Office and the States involve. They also indicated that the relatively low number of ratifications should not be imputed uniquely to the ill will of governments in that old-age protection schemes existed in countries which had not ratified the Conventions. The Government member of Iraq indicated that his country had no difficulty in applying the Conventions on social security in so far as they concerned old-age or invalidity benefits. The Government member of Spain stressed the complexity of the social security instruments and pointed out that, while the Committee of Experts' survey allowed some doubts to be dissipated, the question of the conformity of provisions of Spanish legislation concerning the suspension of benefits still required certain clarifications. In the opinion of the Government member of the United States, his country's legislation gave full effect to Conventions Nos. 102 and 128. The Government member of Nigeria, for his part, highlighted economic, financial and administrative difficulties.

62. Several members requested explanations on the situation in their country concerning ratification prospects for Conventions No. 102 and 128. The Government member of Czechoslovakia stated that when preparing its report under article 19 of the Constitution, his Government had realised that ratification of these Conventions was possible given the flexibility clauses contained in them and that it was very likely that ratification would be approved during the second half of the year. The Government member of Nigeria indicated that his Government would consider ratification of the two Conventions once the conversion of the national provident fund into a social security scheme - which was currently under study - would be completed. The Workers' member of the USSR explained that his country was engaged in the regular ratification procedure and indicated that the adoption in two to three years' time of the new law on pensions - in which the unions were actively collaboration - should enable Conventions Nos. 102 and 128 to be ratified. Finally, the Government member of Denmark stated that, although the general survey had not been able to dissipate certain concerns held by his country, he was prepared to request his Government to look at the matter again. In additions, several speakers, including the Government members of Denmark, Iraq, Spain, Sweden and the United States as well as the Workers' members of Byelorussian SSR, Chile, China, Pakistan, Spain, Ukrainian SSR and the USSR, supplied information on national legislation and practice as regarded old-age protection.

Incidence of economic and demographic factors

63. The Committee devoted a large part of its discussion to economic and demographic problems which affected the financing of social security schemes. It was recognised that social security schemes in many countries were starting to feel financial imbalance due to, on the one hand, the increase in burdens following from inflation and the ageing of the population, and, on the other hand, the reduction of resources for social security following increased unemployement and the economic crisis.

64. Referring to the general conclusions of the Committee of Experts, the majority of speakers stressed the impact of the economic situation on the development of social security programmes and on their financing. The economic crisis, unemployment, underdevelopment and inflation were mentioned as major obstacles to the implemention of Conventions Nos. 102 and 128. The Workers' members recalled that the creation of social security schemes and the financing of old-age benefit required major resources; in certain developing countries as well, it was understood that in the hierarchy of priorities, social security came immediately after satisfaction of the population's basic needs. But even in industrialised countries, the economic crisis had had negative repercussions on the level of old-age benefit, for it was politically easier to reduce the protection of nonactive workers than to reduce the wages of the working population. The Workers' member of Liberia considered that, despite the enormity of the problems encountered by developing countries, it was necessary to commence action in this area. The Employers' members stressed that the prosperity of the economy was a determining factor for ensuring adequate old-age protection. They also indicated that periods of economic recovery and recession always had positive or negative repercussions at the social level. Whatever the old-age protection scheme, the active population should find the necessary means of ensuring its financing.

65. The Workers' member of the Ukrainian SSR recalled one particularly worrying point raised by the Committee of Experts. The economic situation of many countries, especially in the developing countries beset by external debt, had brought about major reductions in the resources allocated to social programmes and pensions. In this respect, several speakers insisted on the need for better respect for and integration of the social factor in economic policies. The Government member of Senegal pointed to the negative effects of structural adjustment policies on social security schemes and old-age benefit in particular. In numerous developing countries, indebtedness, which was a consequence of poverty, had necessitated the adoption of policies which did not always take account of the social dimension and the long-term consequences. She stressed that such policies could only be effective if the "social security variable" was taken into account, so that there was a real human dimension in adjustment policies. The Government member of Bulgaria stated that the improvement of old-age protection was directly linked to the problems of economic recovery which were discussed in the report presented this year to the Conference by the Director-General of the ILO. The ILO therefore had to give more sustained assistance so that the aspirations of countries to economic development did not overshadow the need to resolve social problems. In the same vein, the Workers' member of Liberia referred to the importance of looking at social security as a first priority in the framework of economic development programmes.

66. Discussion also took place in the Committee on demographic changes and, more particularly, on the ageing of the population as well as the problems arising from this for the financing of pension schemes. The decrease in the birth rate noted in numerous industrialised countries, as well as a period of often shorter activity, reduced the number of active workers, whereas the longer life expectancy involved an extension of the period of payment of old-age pensions. On the contrary, as the Workers' and Employers' members pointed out, in developing countries the very high proportion of young persons raised quite different questions concerning employment and the struggle against poverty.

67. The Employers' members stressed the fact that the difficulties facing old-age protection schemes could only be overcome by a whole set of measures. In addition, they considered it a little strange that the Committee of Experts attributed these difficulties mainly to external economic factors whereas the overall social policy, including old-age protection, was an integral part of the national economic and social situation in a country. The Government member of Denmark considered that people were currently becoming more sensitised to the need to complement through savings the pensions that they would recive upon retirement, even if there was a certain scepticism towards saving because of monetary erosion. He recognised, however, that it was not easy to convince the workers of this when they only received a small salary.

68. Whatever the solutions adopted, the Workers' members insisted that the elderly should not be the victims of any reorganisation concerning the financing of their retirement. They also launched a warning against certain dangerous tendencies such as the development of private insurance plans which provided advantages to certain categories of workers. The Employers' members stated that the question of old-age benefits involved long-term obligations and, for the individual, an entire life's planning. It was therefore essential for workers and employers - who bore the main share of the costs of pension systems - to have the necessary information sufficiently in advance.

Maintenance of the purchasing power of benefits

69. The discussion in the Committee put an accent on the dramatic effects of inflation on pensioners, budgets. The Government member of Senegal highlighted the need to adopt urgent measures in this area. The Workers' members insisted on the priority of envisaging adjustment machinery for pensions that would be effective. It was in fact indispensable that means be found to protect the purchasing power of pensioners since no pension scheme would be able to fulfil its long-term objectives if the increase in the cost of living and in the standard of living, in general, was not taken into account. In this respect, the Workers' member of the United Kingdom stressed that, in practice, it was preferable to opt for a lower benefit, the amount of which was guaranteed in the face of inflation, than an apparently better pension in the short term which would be subsequently eroded by inflation. The Employers' members considered that the need to adjust benefits was recognised by everyone although the most appropriate solution had not been found. Pensions, as well as wages, could appear to be protected to some extent by indexation, but this was not genuine protection against inflation to the extent that it created an inflationist mentality. Other measures were necessary to strangle inflation, such as increased productivity through technological innovation and investment, as well as the development of training. While admitting that indexation was not in itself a solution to inflation, the Workers' member of the United Kingdom recalled that, by contributing to social security, workers postponed for the moment the purchase of goods and services which they might have been able to acquire earlier; it would therefore be unfair, and even fraudulent, to make them bear the consequences of a depreciation in the value of money.

Scope of the instruments

70. The Committee agreed upon the need to pursue efforts to increase the number of workers covered by social insurance. The general survey of the Committee of Experts showed that, in a good number of countries, certain categories of workers such as independent workers, agricultural workers, home workers, occasional, seasonal and temporary workers, did not enjoy any protection. In addition, in numerous developing countries, public sector workers were the only ones to receive old-age benefit. In this context, the Government member of Senegal pointed out that the development of the informal sector and independent work contributed to a reduction in the resources at the disposal of social security institutions and deprived workers in these sectors of protection at the end of their careers. The situation of elderly workers in agriculture in most developing countries and certain industrialised countries was considered to be particularly worrying. The Workers' member of Greece considered that this question should be one of the preoccupations of the ILO. The Employers' members observed that progress in this field was slow and hoped for the progressive extension of social protection.

Pensionable age and other pension requirements

71. The question of fixing a fair pensionable age was the subject of a certain number of interventions. The Employers' members insisted on the need to take account of its impact on employment and on the financing of pension schemes. While subscribing to the Committee of Experts' opinion that the pensionable age should not become merely an instrument of employment policy, they considered that account had to be taken of the relationship between the two; the burdens had to be spread judiciously between the active population, the unemployed and the pensioners in order to achieve an appropriate balance between them. The Government member of Denmark indicated that, in his country, the age at which workers took retirement was below the legal pensionable age. While one of the possible responses to this phenomenon would be to lower the retirement age, he considered it more likely that the trend would be in the opposite direction, this being partly explained by demographic changes and partly by the fact that society could not afford to waste the talents of older workers.

72. The Employers' members referred to various ways of applying flexibility to the pensionable age introduced in different legislation and indicated that these new possibilities should not be considered as a means of reducing unemployment, but rather as an extension of the individual's self-determination. This greater freedom to choose the age when a worker can retire also implied the acceptance of financial consequences, namely, the increase or reduction in old-age benefit depending on the retirement age.

73. Several speakers referred to the situation of workers who did not fulfil the minimum contribution conditions or insurance contributions required by law in order to receive old-age benefit. The Government member of Senegal considered this problem particularly worrying for part-time workers or workers holding fixed-term contracts whose old-age benefit was often highly inadequate, or even non-existent, when it was of a contributory nature calculated on the basis of the level of remuneration and the length of employment. She considered that the ILO should urgently examine this type of contract. The Workers' member of Spain mentioned similar problems facing certain categories of workers - youth in particular - who were often forced to accept employment contracts which did not involve social security. In this regard, he stressed the importance of having minimum pensions for workers who could not complete the employment period required by the law.

74. The Workers' member of Spain also expressed the hope that the Committee of Experts would be able to reflect further on the maintenance of rights in the course of acquisition. In this regard, the Government member of the United States referred to measures taken in his country to strengthen co-ordination between the national social security scheme and the federal pension programme, on the one hand, and private insurance bodies, on the other hand, so as to facilitate the labour mobility of workers.

Equality of treatment

75. Many members spoke of the social security situation of migrant workers. The Workers' members pointed out that foreign workers were, in the field of old-age benefit, subjected to at times extremely different treatment to that enjoyed by nationals. In this regard, the Workers' member of Pakistan noted that foreign workers contributed to the well-being of society and that they should consequently benefit from the social protection scheme established by the State just as other workers did. He welcomed the comprehensive measures adopted within the European Communities to ensure the protection of migrant workers and expressed the hope that other host countries would do the same. The Workers' member of Greece regretted that the general survey of the Committee of Experts merely touched upon the situation of migrant workers. He observed that workers who were not covered by multi- or bilateral social security agreements were often deprived of their pension when they returned to their country of origin and that even workers protected by such agreements faced administrative difficulties leading to delays in the payment of their pensions. He hoped that the Committee of Experts would be able to give more thought to the subject and would make recommendations on these problems. In this connection, however, it had to be noted that the Committee of Experts had undertaken in 1977 a general survey on equality of treatment between nationals and foreigners in the field of social security during its examination of reports due under article 19 of the Constitution on Convention No. 118.

76. Several speakers also raised the question of equalising the pensionable age for women and for men, since the examination of national legislation had shown that this age was often lower for women. The Employers' members considered that the controversy on this subject would lose its importance in so far as workers were to enjoy greater freedom to decide the age when they would retire. The Government member of Sweden recalled that the Committee of Experts in 1985 had suggested that it would be appropriate to consider the adoption of international standards on equal treatment for men and women in social security matters. Now this question was among the items proposed for discussion by the Governing Body at its forthcoming November Session when it was to decide on the agenda of the 1991 International Labour Conference. She expressed her Government's support for the inclusion of this question on the agenda of a future session of the Conference. The Workers' members expressed the wish that the discussion to take place in the Governing Body with a view to the possible adoption by the Conference of new standards on this subject would not be limited just to the question of equalising the pensionable age. In this respect, the Committee was informed by the representative of the Secretary-General that the possibility of a new instrument on equality of treatment between men and women in social security matters, which was proposed for discussion by the Governing Body at its forthcoming November Session, was aimed at eliminating both direct and indirect discrimination in social security, and not only the inequalities existing with respect to the pensionable age.

Technical assistance, information and studies

77. The discussion which took place in the Committee brought out the need for the Office to continue to supply to developing countries, in particular, as intense technical assistance as possible. As had been stressed by the general survey of the Committee of Experts, the creation of social security schemes or their improvement had been helped by the technical assistance and advice provided by the Office to governments which had requested it.

78. The Workers' member of China indicated that extensive reforms had recently been undertaken regarding economic restructuring and social security and that the concrete assistance of the symposia carried out by the Office had been of the greatest usefulness to workers in this regard. The Government member of the United States referred to paragraphs 21 to 25 of the survey which described the technical co-operation, studies and research conducted by the Office and he welcomed the assistance provided by the Office experts particularly in relation to the adoption of guide-lines and of social security legislation, the publication of actuarial studies, the organisation of seminars and courses, as well as the exchange of experience and information through publications and research projects on current issues. He stressed that the link existing between the ILO's technical co-operation and standard-setting action constituted a responsible and co-operative approach to the renewing of national practices under ILO instruments. The Worker member of Pakistan recalled that the low percentage of protected persons and high unemployment were factors preventing the ratification of the Conventions in developing countries, and he highlighted the valuable assistance that the Offi Office could give towards improving the methods and functioning of social security institutions. The Worker member of the United Kingdom pointed to the considerable efforts made by the Office to help governments in setting up pension schemes. He considered that the assistance provided by the Office should be aimed at setting up a framework capable of expanding in conjunction with developments in the country's economy. The Office had to tailor its advice to the needs of countries, to their stage of development and to their future prospects, as well as to their current means. The Worker member of Liberia referred to the sending of an expert by the International Confederation of Free Unions (ICFTU), which had enabled major progress to be made in this field. Certain members referred to the importance of governments having up-to-date and reliable statistical information which was absolutely indispensable for the organisation and operation of social security schemes. That was why the Workers' member of the United Kingdom thought that the Office should also help governments to set up or improve effective statistical systems.

79. The Government member of Bulgaria insisted on the fact that problems of comparing old-age benefit with changing economic circumstances required the ILO to carry out a systemisation of practice in the different States in this area. He considered that it was desirable that these questions be examined from a practical point of view in co-operation with other international organisations. The Workers' member of the USSR stated that, in his country, the measures taken to increase the level of the minimum old-age pension to the level of the minimum wage, together with the drafting of the bill on pensions, needed in-depth studies, especially as regarded the experience of other industrialised countries and the co-operation of the ILO.

80. The Committee was convinced that the general survey of the Committee of Experts was extremely useful. It also welcomed the particularly constructive exchange of views which had taken place between its members. The discussion had shown that there was general agreement regarding the importance of the role of social security and pension schemes in particular, even though a broad range of approaches was possible in the search for solutions and although one sole system did not apply. On several occasions, accent had been placed on the need to ensure for everyone decent old age benefit which would take account of developments in the cost of living. Such an objective was the most basic concern of social justice; beyond the responsibility of social security institutions, the whole collectivity should be sensitised to the need to give pensioners a fair share of what they had given to society when they had been part of the working population. In addition, the Committee noted with interest that the general survey would receive the widest possible distribution among member States, representative employers' and workers' organisations at both the international and national levels, as well as in universities and social security institutions. It also noted that the suggestions and proposals made during this discussion would be transmitted to the Department of Social Security of the Office. In conclusion, the Committee expressed the hope that the general survey of the Committee of Experts and the discussion would contribute to the improvement of the protection of the elderly by mobilising all forces at the international and national levels.

D. Report on the Fifth Session of the Joint ILO. UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers

81. The representative of the Director-General of the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said that the issues pertaining to improvements in the professionalism required of teachers, which concerned primarily UNESCO, had to be considered in relation to the working conditions of teachers, which fell within the fields of competence of the ILO. The report of the Joint Committee would be submitted to the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations of UNESCO' s Executive Board at its 132nd Session, scheduled for September 1989. The Director-General of UNESCO had incorporated many of its suggestions for actions in the proposed programme and budget for UNESCO for 1990-91, which would be examined by the General Conference of UNESCO in October-November 1989. At a time when UNESCO was planning to launch International Literacy Year, and to organise, in collaboration with the World Bank, UNICEF and the UNDP, a World Conference on Education for All, the report of the Joint Committee was indeed very timely. The Joint Committee's comments regarding the allegation received from a teachers' organisation in the Netherlands would be examined by UNESCO's Committee on Conventions and Recommendations. UNESCO shared the Joint Committee's concerns over the perceived decline in the quality of education, and the interlinkage that this had with the status accorded to teachers, who were important factor in the development process.

82. More and more countries were resorting to the development of educational policies and plans, long, medium and short term, but UNESCO recognised the need to further encourage countries, particularly the poor countries, to develop such plans, and sustainable strategies of action consonant with overall development policies. Despite progress in the requirements for admission to teacher preparation programmes, there was a crisis in teaching as seen from the growing numbers of illiterates in the world today, and the growing numbers of underemployed and unemployed. UNESCO concurred with the Joint Committee' s conclusions that the content of training programmes and the facilities accorded to teachers and learners had to be improved, and the participation of women teachers in technical and vocational education had to be increased to promote the currently inadequate enrolment of girls in this crucial area. UNESCO would encourage governments to include representatives of teachers' organisations in the conceptualisation and elaboration of educational policies as well as in the implementation and the evaluation of policies, plans and strategies of actions bearing on education and the statuts of teachers. UNESCO also supported the Joint Committee's conclusions regarding the need for better preparation of teachers and teacher educators. It emphasised, in its draft third medium-term plan, the development of relevant in-service and continuing education, as well as the training of teachers and teacher educators in pedagogical skills. It had also encouraged education and training authorities to pay more attention to research, experimentation and evaluation. UNESCO had also taken note of the Joint Committee's suggestion that actions relating to early childhood education should be encouraged and that there should be concerted action by all parties to stimulate interest in developing better services for pre-school children. UNESCO hoped to undertake the various actions proposed by the Joint Committee, if budgetary allocations were available. These actions would be undertaken with the collaboration of intergovernmental institutions, with the ILO and with non-governmental organisations, particularly those of the teaching profession (the IFFTU, the WCOTP, the WCT and the FISE).

83. Referring to the Joint Committee's proposal to undertake a study on international standards adopted after the 1966 Recommendation which apply to teachers, she said that UNESCO had already carried out such a study. It was hoped that the ILO would now undertake a similar study and that a joint brochure on the outcome could be made available to member States and bodies interested in improving the status of teachers. The Director-General of UNESCO attached great importance to the valuable contribution that the Joint Committee made in carrying out its task of monitoring the progress made by member States in the implementation of a very important normative instrument bearing on the professionalism as well as on the working conditions of teachers. UNESCO would therefore continue to cooperate with the ILO in inciting governments to provide teachers with the necessary material conditions and social status that were commensurate with their important role in society.

84. The Employer' members acknowledged the great importance of these issues and expressed their gratitude for the report of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts. They fully supported the call for more complete information on the situation of teachers throughout the world, since reliable empirical data was the necessary basis for formulating further measures and recommendations. In every society, development depended upon the quality of teachers and they had no doubt that the status of teachers was of crucial importance. Education and training were more important than ever as they were closely connected to the world of work; there was therefore an even greater need for qualified teachers who could impart not only the subject-matter but also a desire to learn. Qualifications and status were of course intertwined; the recognition given by society to teachers determined their status. The Employers' members thought that the report of the Joint Committee had dealt with very important matters and that it contained possible solutions for solving problems. They supported the proposals for further studies made by the Joint Committee.

85. The Workers' members inquired about the composition of the Joint Committee of Experts, its mandate, the work it performed and the possibility of presenting complaints or observations in relation to the content of the Recommendation. The lack of prestige, discrimination, deterioration of conditions and denial of rights which teachers were facing was all the more a source of concern because of the necessity to promote teaching in order to stimulate economic and social development. The status of teachers should be in line with the loftiness of their task and of their vocation. The means had to be found to follow up the outstanding study that the Joint Committee's report represented; it was regrettable that not enough governments had participated in its preparation. The Workers' members highlighted the double role of teachers' organisations: the quality of teaching and the defence of occupational interests. The Workers' member of Pakistan noted that in many Third World countries the illiteracy rate was growing and a sufficient percentage of the GNP was not being allocated to the educational sector. Teachers deserved more support, be that in the public or the private sector. There should be continuing job enrichment and participation of teachers as workers in decision-making which would enhance job satisfaction. The right of teachers to strike, which was derived from Convention No. 87, and the right to collective bargaining did not conflict with the overall public interest. The Workers' member of Senegal, citing strikes by teachers but also consultations between the government and teachers' unions in his country, contended that it was necessary to avoid the isolation of the teachers' union movement from the national or international workers' movement. In conclusion, the Workers' members referred to the possibility of drawing up Conventions or Recommendations concerning this very specific category of workers' teachers.

86. The Workers' member of the Netherlands, referring to the allegation annexed to the Joint Committee' s report, welcomed the fact that an organisation of teachers had availed itself of the opportunity to lodge such a complaint, yet he wondered what would be the practical follow-up to a complaint based on a non-binding instrument. The ILO was the most appropriate body to deal with the increasing number of very serious cases involving severe violations of teachers' trade union rights, discrimination in the teaching profession, and so on. Although the competence of UNESCO in the case of many other aspects related to the status of teachers was not doubted, the question remained whether UNESCO was the most appropriate body to deal with the working conditions of teachers. The fact that the ILO was going to pay greater attention to these matters, through the newly instituted machinery, was to be welcomed. It hopefully would provide the ILO with practical and broadly accorded ideas for possible ILO instruments relating to the work of teachers throughout the world.

87. The representative of the International Federation of Free Teachers Unions, noting that the conditions of teachers had to be placed in the framework of a more general discussion on ways of promoting economic recovery and employment, cited the financial situation and indebtedness of many developing countries as an additional obstacle to the Recommendations' s application. The Recommendation was an important tool but it did not provide a maximum guarantee as it was not an instrument that placed legal constraints on governments. Among other things, the ILO should consider preparing a general survey on the standards applicable to teachers. The representative of the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession, pointing out gaps in the otherwise excellent reporting of the Joint Committee, highlighted the deterioration in the status of the teaching profession throughout the world, owing in part top policies of structural adjustment, and the effects of extending the principles of new liberalism to the educational system. This had resulted in the degradation in conditions of work, employment, remuneration and a deprofessionalisation of the sector, causing teachers to leave the profession prematurely or to exercise it in parallel with other jobs. Repression and even assassinations, as well as interference in the internal affairs of teacher unions, further constituted ways of silencing teachers' demands. Not only the future of teachers was involved, but also the future of youth and therefore of nations was at stake. He regretted the absence of teachers' organisations in the Joint Committee. The representative of the World Federation of Trade Unions associated himself with the analysis and conclusions of the representatives of the international teacher's organisations as to the serious effect on teachers of reductions in public spending, including massive reductions in teacher positions, salaries and cutbacks in their professional training. Restrictive or privatisation policies would create structural imbalance more dramatic than the balance of the debts of the countries concerned. To sacrifice teachers was the equivalent of sacrificing youth and therefore, the future. The supervisory machinery of the Recommendation was not entirely satisfactory and the present Committee's examination of the Joint Committee's report could improve the implementation of its conclusions.

88. The representatives of the international teachers' and trade union organisations reiterated their views that workers in education should benefit from full freedom of association as did other workers in accordance with ILO standards, notably Conventions Nos. 87, 98 and 151, in addition to the Recommendation of 1966. They welcomed the recent decisions of the ILO's Governing Body to convene a joint meeting on teachers in 1991 and to institute a standing committee on teachers' problems. They further called upon the ILO to complement the existing Recommendation by the adoption of one or more Conventions specifically related to teachers.

89. The Government member of Japan paid tribute to the quality of the Joint Committee's report and agreed that the recruitment of excellent teachers should be given the highest priority in education policies, and he gave evidence of the situation prevailing in Japan. He stressed the importance of granting teachers the best salaries and conditions in the public service. His Government supported the two topical areas which the Joint Committee recommended for in-depth study: the continuing education of teachers, and stress, burn-out, turnover and difficulties in the exercise of the profession. His Government also supported the proposal that the dissemination of information on the 1966 Recommendation should be given a high priority, but it could not support the view that teachers who were public service employees should have the right to strike. He recalled that in the report of the intergovernmental conference which adopted in 1966 Recommendation, several countries had indicated their view, in cases where there were adequate alternative or compensatory measures available, paragraph 84 of the Recommendation would be construed so that the right to strike was not conferred on teachers who were public service employees.

90. The representative of the Secretary-General noted that, subject to a more in-depth study, the majority of international labour Conventions applied to teaching personnel, particularly the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151). The ILO's supervisory bodies had clearly stated that teachers should enjoy the right to organise, the right to associate with organisations of their own choosing, the right to strike and the right to bargain collectively; in particular, the Committee on Freedom of Association had decided that teachers were not to be an essential service under ILO standards. The suggestions concerning the adoption of a Convention on the conditions of work and employment of teachers, and the desire to incorporate teachers' organisations more closely in the workings of the supervisory machinery for the application of the 1966 Recommendation were being discussed in consultation with UNESCO. The Committee, thanks to its discussions, had perfectly carried out the mission assigned to it.

E. Compliance with specific obligations

91. The Committee decided that, in examining individual cases relating to compliance by States with their obligations under or relating to international labour standards, it would follow the same working methods and apply the same criteria as last year, as amended or clarified in 1980 an 1987.

92. In accordance with its terms of reference, the Committee considered the manner in which effect was given to article 19, paragraphs 5 to 7, of the ILO Constitution. These provisions required member States within 12 months, or exceptionally 18 months, from the closing of each session of the Conference to submit the Convention and Recommendations adopted at that session to "the authority or authorities within whose competence the matter lies, or the enactment of legislation or other action", and to inform the Director-General of the ILO of the measures taken to that end, with particulars of the authority or authorities regarded as competent.

93. The Committee noted from the report of the Committee of Experts that considerable efforts had been made in a number of countries in the fulfilment of their obligations in regard to submission, namely Angola, Brazil, Ghana and Nepal. In the course of its session, the Committee was informed by various other States of measures taken to bring Conventions and Recommendations before the competent national authorities. It welcomed the progress which had been achieved, and expressed the hope that improvements would occur in countries that still experienced difficulties in complying with their obligations.

94. The Committee noted with regret that no indication was available that steps had been taken to submit the Conventions and Recommendations adopted during the 67th and 74th Sessions of the Conference (1981 and 1986), to the competent authorities, in accordance with article 19 of the Constitution, by Grenada, Haiti, Islamic Republic of Iran, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Suriname.

95. The Workers' and Employers' members and many Government members expressed their concern at difficulties still being encountered by some governments in complying with their obligation to report on - the application of ratified Conventions. Only 9 per cent of the reports due had been received by the date fixed by the Governing Body (9.5 per cent in 1988). By the date of the meeting of the Committee of Experts, however, this percentage had risen to 74.7, which represented a decrease compared to 1986, 1987 and 1988 (for which the figures were 79.2, 78.7 and 78.4 per cent respectively). Since then further reports have been received, bringing the figure to 84.4 per cent (as compared to 86 per cent in 1988 and 87.1 per cent in 1987).

96. This year, 63 per cent of the reports for which information on practical information had been requested contained such information, which represented a considerable increase over previous years (46 per cent in 1988, 53 per cent in 1987 and 52 per cent in 1986). The Workers' and Employers' members emphasised the importance of sending such information, since without it, it was impossible to know if a Convention was being applied.

97. It was recognised that shortcomings in complying with the reporting obligations were often due to a shortage of staff having the requisite knowledge and experience, particularly in developing countries. This underlined the importance of training measures and assistance by the International Labour Office, to which reference has been made earlier in this report. (See also paragraphs 44 to 46 above.)

98. The Committee noted with regret that no report on ratified Conventions had been supplied for the past two years by Cape Verde.

99. The Committee also noted with regret that the first report on ratified Conventions had not been supplied since 1986 by Jamaica (Convention No. 149). It stressed the special importance of first reports, on the basis of which the Committee of Experts could make its evaluation of compliance with the Conventions.

100. In this year's report, the Committee of Experts had noted that 30 governments had not communicated replies to most or all of the observations and direct requests relating to Conventions on which reports were due for examination this year, involving a total of 177 cases (compared with 224 cases last year and 185 two years ago). It was, however, informed that, since the meeting of the Committee of Experts, 14 of the governments concerned had sent replies which would be examined by the Committee of Experts next year.

101. The Committee noted with regret, however, that no information had yet been received regarding all or most of the observations and direct requests of the Committee of Experts to which replies were requested for the period ending 30 June 1988 from the following countries: Bahamas, Cape Verde, Denmark (Faeroe Islands, Greenland), Grenada, Jamaica, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, New Zealand (Niue Island), Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone.

102. The Committee noted the explanations provided by the governments of the following countries concerning difficulties encountered in discharging their obligations: Denmark (Greenland, Faeroe Islands, administrative difficulties), Grenada (administrative difficulties), Haiti (political and administrative difficulties), Islamic Republic of Iran (technical and administrative difficulties), Jamaica (administrative and technical difficulties), Lebanon (state of war), Mauritius (administrative difficulties), New Zealand (Niue Island, communication difficulties), Papua New Guinea (technical and administrative difficulties), Sierra Leone (administrative difficulties), Suriname (political and administrative difficulties), Uganda (administrative difficulties). (Details of these explanations appear in the reports of the discussions of these cases, in Part Two of this report.)

103. The Committee noted with particular interest the steps that had been taken by a certain number of governments to ensure compliance with ratified Conventions. This year, the Committee of Experts had been able to list, in paragraph 94 of its report, new cases in which governments had made changes to their law and practice following comments it had made concerning the degree of conformity of national legislation or practice with the provisions of a ratified Convention. There were 46 such cases, relating to 29 States and 3 non-metropolitan territories from all regions of the world having different social and economic systems. Almost 1,800 cases of progress have been recorded since the Committee of Experts began listing these cases in its report in 1964. These results are a tangible proof of the effectiveness of the supervisory system.

104. In the course of the present session, the Conference Committee was informed of a certain number of other instances in which measures had recently been taken or were about to be adopted by governments with a view to ensuring the implementation of ratified Conventions. While it was left to the Committee of Experts to examine these measures, the Conference committee welcomed these renewed signs of the efforts made by governments to comply with their international obligations and to act upon the comments of the supervisory bodies.

105. The Committee thought it appropriate to draw the attention of the Conference to a number of important cases which it had considered.

106. The Committee noted with satisfaction that in a number of cases governments have introduced changes in their law and practice in order to eliminate divergencies previously discussed by the Committee. In this respect, it referred to the report of the Committee of Experts and the discussion of individual cases which appears in Part Two of this report.

107. The Committee considered it appropriate to draw the attention of the Conference to the discussions it had had regarding the cases mentioned in the following paragraphs, the full record of which will be found in Part Two of this report.

108. As regarded the application by the Central African Republic of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Committee took note of the explanations and information provided by the Government representative and of the discussion which had taken place in the Committee. The Committee noted with regret that the Government had not yet followed up on the promises it had made in 1986, 1987 and 1988 to receive a direct contacts mission. The Committee, while noting that certain divergencies in relation to provisions of the Convention had been eliminated in law and in practice, stated its concern over the imposition, by means of a new trade union Act, of a single trade union structure. The Committee expressed the hope that the Government would swiftly take all steps necessary to eliminate the serious and important divergences which still remained and to ensure full conformity with the Convention in the legislation and in practice. It hoped the Government would be able to report definite and substantive progress next year.

109. As regarded the application by Colombia of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Committee took note of the information supplied by the Government representative and the detailed discussions which had taken place within the Committee. The Committee noted with profound concern the comments made by the Committee of Experts, which spoke of the persistence of a number of grave divergencies between, on the one hand, law and practice and, on the other hand, the provisions of the Convention. It recalled in this respect the questions that had been raised by the Committee of Experts over many years. The Committee took note with interest of the report of the direct contacts mission that had travelled to Colombia in September 1988 and of the grave concern and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association. The Committee requested the Government to take all necessary measures to bring the law and practice fully into line with the requirements of the Convention, inter alia, in attempting to reintroduce a situation propitious to the re-establishment of civil liberties and accordingly freedom of association, and to guarantee the physical safety of trade unionists. The Committee decided to request the Government to hold tripartite consultations and reminded it of the possibility of having resort to the ILO's assistance. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government would be able to report next year on substantial progress achieved in this field in view of the importance and gravity of the situation.

110. As regarded the application by the Dominican Republic of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), the Committee took note of the information provided by the Government representative and of the extensive discussion which had taken place. The Committee, taking note of the direct contacts which took place in October 1988, expressed its extreme concern over the situation of Haitian workers. It regretted that once again no government report had been received and that the Government representative had merely provided some information in regard to labour inspection and minimum wages. The Committee stressed that there had been no progress, either in legislation or in practice, on essential points raised over a number of years by the Commission of Inquiry, the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee. The Committee further noted that the Dominican Republic had requested ILO assistance in order to ensure the application of the Conventions in both its legislation and practice. In this regard, the Committee considered that special efforts were called for so that the ILO could, as from the next harvest, verify the situation and ascertain on the spot that improvements which had been promised but were still awaited had in fact been made. It insisted upon the need for the Government to take the necessary measures the implementation of which should be verified in practice. The Committee also noted that the Government had requested ILO assistance in drawing up an agreement with Haiti concerning the migration of workers. The Committee trusted that any agreement drawn up with ILO assistance would particularly heed the comments of the supervisory bodies. The Committee also trusted that, whether or not such an agreement was concluded, the Government of the Dominican Republic would, without delay, take the measures necessary to give full effect to the comments made by the ILO supervisory bodies.

111. As regarded the application by Ecuador of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Committee took note of the information provided by the Government representative. The Committee recalled that the direct contacts mission of 1985 had, in agreement with the Government, prepared draft amendments designed to remove a serious divergence between the legislation and the provisions of the Convention and to give effect to the comments of the Committee of Experts. The Committee welcomed the fact that the draft legislation would be transmitted for examination by the Committee of Experts and expressed the hope that these drafts contained solutions to the existing difficulties and divergences with the Convention. The Committee took note of the assurances provided by the Government that these draft amendments would be implemented as soon as possible in order to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Committee expressed the hope that the Government would be in a position to show proof of progress in the application of the Conventions by next year. As for the application by Ecuador of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), the Committee took note of the information provided by the Government representative, and the discussion that took place in the Committee. It noted that at the time of the meeting of the Committee of Experts the report of the Government had not been received. Consequently, the Committee of Experts had merely been in a position to recall its previous conclusions. The Committee, for its part, noted with concern that only certain measures had been taken to ensure conformity in law and in practice with the provisions contained in the Convention, and in this respect it expressed the firm hope that the Government would take, without any delay, the necessary measures in order to bring its law and practice into conformity with the Convention. The Committee hoped that it would be able to take note of substantial and real progress in the near future.

112. As regarded the application by Romania of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee took note of the oral and written information supplied by the Government and of the discussion which took place in the Committee. The Committee noted with great concern that the Committee of Experts' observations noted the persistence of serious divergences between, on the one hand, the law and practice and, on the other hand, the provisions of the Convention particularly as concerned political opinion and social origin. The Committee also noted the worrying allegations and information on the situation regarding national extraction. It expressed the firm hope that the Government would take in the very near future all the measures necessary to ensure full respect for the Convention and that these measures would take into account the Committee of Experts' observations. The Committee requested the Government to accept a study mission to establish the facts and report back to the Committee of Experts. In addition, it requested the Government to provide the Committee of Experts with the detailed information it had requested. The Committee strongly hoped that it would be able to note, in the near future, real and appreciable progress in the application, both in law and in practice, of the Convention.

113. As regarded the application by Turkey of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee took note of the information given by the Government representative and the various opinions and comments expressed during the discussion. The Committee noted the conclusions of the Committee of Experts, according to which there existed, both in law and in practice, profound divergences concerning the full application of the Convention. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the contemplated revision of certain sections of Martial Law No. 1402 would duly take into account the observations of the supervisory bodies of the ILO and would thus make it possible for the Government to continue its efforts so that the measures intended to ensure state security would be defined and delimited in such a way that they would no longer lead to any discrimination based on political opinions. The Committee trusted that in the near future the Government would communicate all the information requested so as to enable the Committee to be assured that the application of the Convention and real progress were achieved.

114. The Committee trusted that the governments concerned would take all the measures necessary to correct the deficiencies noted and invited them to use appropriate forms of ILO assistance, including direct contacts, to ensure that real progress would be achieved by next year in regard to the observance of their obligations under the ILO Constitution and the Conventions in question.

115. The Committee recalls that its working methods provide for the listing of cases of continued failure over several years to eliminate serious deficiencies in the application of ratified Conventions which it has previously discussed. This year the Committee did not list any case under this heading.

116. The Governments of the countries to which reference is made in paragraphs 108 to 113 are invited to supply the relevant reports and information which will permit the Committee to follow up the above-mentioned matters at the next session of the Conference.

117. As already indicated, reports had been requested in 1988, under article 19 of the Constitution, on the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), the Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention (No. 128) and Recommendation (No. 131), 1967, in so far as they applied to old-age benefits. The Committee noted that, of the 402 reports requested, 271 (or 67.4 per cent) had been received.

118. The Committee noted with regret that, over the past five years, none of the reports on unratified Conventions and on Recommendations requested under article 19 of the Constitution had been supplied by: Jamaica, Paraguay, Sao Tome and Principe, Uganda.

119. Again this year, the Committee did not have to apply the criterion "The government has failed during the past three years to indicate the representative organisations of employers and workers to which, in accordance with article 23(2) of the Constitution, copies of reports and information supplied to the ILO under articles 19 and 22 have been communicated".

120. The Committee wanted to express its gratitude to the 50 governments which had collaborated with it in providing information on the situation in their countries and in participating in the discussions of individual cases.

121. However, the Committee regretted that, despite repeated invitations, the governments of the following States failed to take part in the discussions concerning their countries: Cape Verde, Madagascar and Mauritania.

122. The Committee noted with regret that certain countries which were not represented at the Conference (Bahamas, Fiji, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Seychelles), as well as another whose representatives had had to leave the Conference before its closure (Sao Tome and Principe), had consequently been unable to participate in the Committee's examination of the cases relating to them. It decided to mention the cases concerning these States in the appropriate paragraphs of this report and to inform the States concerned of this in accordance with the usual practice.

123. In submitting its report to the Conference, the Committee expressed the reasoned hope to make, this year, a special contribution on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Organisation. As was pointed out in paragraph 13 of its report above, the general discussion, richer than ever, had enabled the Committee to observe that it had made an important step - a decisive one, it hoped - towards the reconciling of views on questions of substance such as: the universal value of standards, the complementary nature of the different supervisory bodies and the foundation of their working methods on the same principles of independence, objectivity and impartiality.

124. As one of the members of the Committee had pointed out during the general discussion, perhaps the most notable aspect in the development of the Organisation rested in the gradual extension of the notion of dialogue and in the way it was perceived. Reduced to basics - since it is not attached to behaviour and procedures and is only practised by a small number of protagonists - dialogue had progressively become a many-varied and irreplaceable thing, especially in its tripartite dimension, which made the Organisation unique. The Committee was one of those privileged places where dialogue could be pursed and deepened. The many Government representatives who replied to the Committee's invitation bore witness to their desire for co-operation and, beyond that, to their recognition of the value of the supervisory system.

125. Indeed, only the guarantee of the effective application of standards in good faith and on an equal basis for all could confer credibility on the standard-setting work of the ILO. This carried the message that the Organisation had addressed to the world 70 years ago, namely: that peace and social justice go hand in had. Albert Thomas, at the Organisation' s tenth anniversary, explained social justice not only as a means, but also as an end in itself. He added the phrase which has become famous: "The social factor must take precedence over the economic factor". Clearly the 70th anniversary has not yet seen this hope become a reality, as shown particularly by the discussions within the Committee concerning the Employment Policy Convention, No. 122. In a rapidly and widely changing world, where economic and social structures and even systems are in flux, where the need to take account of the social cost of adjustment policies is apparently still not fully appreciated, where the right to work and social achievements are often questioned in the name of economic rationality, the ILO has to double its efforts so that its international standards can promote balanced economic and social development, integrating that human factor which it was set up to defend.

Geneva, 23 June 1989.

(Signed) J.-J. ELMIGER

M. KCHAOU

Endnotes

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